LIVES 

OP  THB 

CHIEF  FATHERS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND. 

The  Lord  our  God  "be  -witli  us,  as  he  -was  with  our  fa- 
thers :  let  him  not  leave  us,  nor  forsake  us. 

1  Kings  8:   57. 

VOL.    IV. 


THE  LIFE 


OF 


THOMAS  SHEPARD. 


BY   JOHN    A.    AI,BRO. 


Written  for  the.   Mdssachtisetta   Sabbath   School   Society,  and 
approved  by  the  Committee  of  Publication. 


BOSTON: 

MASSACHUSETTS  SABBATH  SCHOOL  SOCIETY, 

Depository,  No.   13  Cornhill. 

1  847. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1847, 

Bt    CHRISTOPHER    C.    DEAN, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


3X' 


LIBRART     .  . 

n  ^LO  UWIVE;RSITY  of  CALIFORIfMr 

^  ^  SAISTA  BARBARA 


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S3  A4 


PREFACE. 


The  materials  for  the  ensuing  Life  of  Thomas 
Shepard,  have  been  gathered  from  his  own  writings, 
and  from  all  accessible  cotemporaneous  sources.  Be- 
sides his  printed  works,  which  exhibit  his  views  of 
religion  and  the  church,  and  aid  us  in  forming  a 
judgment  respecting  his  mind  and  character,  Mr. 
Shepard  left  in  MSS.  an  Autobiography,  containing 
brief  notices  of  the  principal  events  in  his  personal 
and  domestic  history,  which  was  first  published  to  the 
world  by  Rev.  Nehemiah  Adams,  in  1832,  and  more 
recently  by  Rev.  Mr.  Young,  in  "  The  Chronicles  of 
Massachusetts."  The  Life  of  Shepard,  as  it  is  called, 
in  Mather's  Magnalia,  the  only  one  that  has  ever 
been  written,  is  but  little  more  than  an  abridgment 
of  this  Autobiography,  (the  third  person  being  used 
instead  of  the  first,)  with  a  few  quaint,  general  obser- 
vations interspersed,  which,  together,  constitute  but  a 
meagre  and  unsatisfactory  view  of  the  character  and 
influence  of  this  eminent  man.  In  the  present  work, 
Mr.  Shepard's  account  of  himself  has,  of  course,  been 
relied  on,  as  far  as  it  goes,  for  facts  and  dates ;  but  a 
vast  amount  of  matter,  essential  to  the  illustration  of 
his  labors,  and  to  a  just  view  of  his  position  in  New 
England,  has  been  drawn  from  other  sources.  Sev- 
1* 


▼1  PREFACE 

eral  interesting  MSS.  Letters,  never  before  published, 
which  throw  much  light  upon  Mr.  Shepard's  domestic 
and  public  life,  have,  by  the  permission  of  Mr.  Felt,  the 
accomplished  Librarian  of  the  Mass.  Historical  Society, 
been  kindly  transcribed  for  the  Author  by  Mr.  David 
Pulsifer,  the  only  man,  it  is  believed,  who  could  have 
deciphered  the  chirography  in  which  they  have  been 
locked  up  for  more  than  two  hundred  years.  The 
work  is,  doubtless,  very  imperfect,  notwithstanding  all 
the  pains  which  have  been  taken  to  render  it  com- 
plete ;  but,  as  a  sincere  tribute  to  the  memory  of  one 
of  New  England's  best  as  well  as  chief  Fathers,  and 
an  attempt  to  vindicate  the  principles  of  those  men  to 
whom  we  owe  our  civil  and  religious  liberty,  it  is 
commended  to  the  children  of  the  Puritans,  in  the 
hope  that  it  may  be  regarded  as  not  entirely  destitute 
of  interest,  and  contribute  somewhat  to  the  success  of 
the  cause  in  which  we  are  engaged. 


LIFE  OF  THOMAS  SHEPAED. 


CHAPTER    I. 

The  shield  of  faith  General  character  and  different  classes  of  early  N 
E.  ministers.  Mr.  Shepard  one  of  the  first  class.  His  birth.  Wil 
liamShepard.  A  mother's  influence.  Sent  to  reside  with  his  grand 
parents.  Removed  to  Adthrop.  Whitsun-Alea.  Returns  home 
Changes  in  the  family.  Unkind  Step-mother.  Welch  schoolmas 
ter.  Death  of  his  father.  Education  neglected  by  his  Mother-in' 
law.  His  brother  John  offers  to  educate  him.  Goes  to  a  new  school 
Diligence  in  study.    Fitted  for  college. 

Virgil,  in  the  eighth  Book  of  the  JEneid,  tells 
us  that  the  shield  which  Vulcan,  at  the  request 
of  Venus,  made  for  jEneas,  contained  in  sixteen 
compartments,  or  pictures,  a  prophetic  represent- 
ation of  the  Roman  history  from  the  birth  of 
Ascanius  to  the  battle  of  Actium. 

"  The  brethren  first  a  glorious  shield  prepare, 
Capacious  of  the  whole  Rutulian  war. 
Some,  Orb  in  Orb,  the  blazing  buckler  frame, 
Some  with  huge  bellows  rouse  the  roaring  flame  : 

With  joy  the  weighty  spear  the  prince  beheld; 
But  most  admired  the  huge  mysterious  shield; 
For  there  had  Vulcan,  skill'd  in  times  to  come, 


a         LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

Displayed  the  triumphs  of  immortal  Rome ; 
There  all  the  Julian  line  the  god  had  wrought, 
And  charged  the  gold  with  battlea  yetunfought."  * 

A  device  which  must  have  been  as  terrible  to 
the  enemies  of  the  Trojan  hero,  as  it  was  en- 
couraging to  the    bearer. 

What  Virgil  here  presents  as  a  beautiful  poet- 
ic idea,  the  Redeemer  of  the  church  has  actual- 
ly realized  for  us.  We  have  the  shield  of  faith, 
wherewith  to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
wicked,  emblazoned  with  the  mighty  history, 
past  and  prospective,  of  his  stupendous  victories. 
On  one  part  of  its  flaming  disc,  we  see  the  story 
of  the  ancient  dispensation ;  written  for  the  ad- 
monition and  encouragement  of  those  who  have 
inherited  "  the  covenants,  and  the  promises,  and 
the  service  of  God  :  "  on  another  portion,  there 
appears  the  memorable  history  of  our  own  New 
England  Patriarchs,  from  the  birth  of  Puritan- 
ism to  the  permanent  and  quiet  settlement  of  a 
pure  church  in  this  land,  exhibiting  the  trials, 
sufferings,  conflicts,  and  triumphs  of  those  christ- 


*  Ingentem  clypeam  informunt,  unum  omnia  coaira 

Tela  Latinorum,  septenoacjue  orbibus  orbes 

Impediunt. 

Illlc  res  Italaa,  Rumanorumque  triumphos 

Haud  vatum  ignarus,  renturique  Inscias  aeri, 

Fecerat  ignipotens  :  illic  genus  omne  futurs 

Stirpit  ab  Ascanio,  pupiataque  in  ordine  bella. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.         9 

ian  heroes  who  turned  this  wilderness  into  a 
fruitful  field ;  a  history  which  should  be  kept  in 
perpetual  remembrance,  and  constantly  held 
forth  to  the  world  for  the  purpose  of  animating 
their  and  our  posterity  in  the  labors  and  conflicts 
that  are  before  us.'*' 

The  ministers  and  christians  by  whom  New 
England  was  planted,  as  one  of  our  early  histo- 
rians has  remarked,  were  a  chosen  company  of 
men,  drawn  from  nearly  all  the  counties  of  Eng- 
land, not  by  any  human  contrivance,  but  by  a 
peculiar  work  of  God  upon  their  spirits,  inspir- 
ing them  as  one  man  to  retire  into  the  wilderness, 
they  knew  not  where,  and  to  suflTer  in  that  wilder- 
ness they  knew  not  what,  for  the  glory  of  God, 
and  for  the  good  of  their  children.!  "  God  sift- 
ed three  nations,"  says  Stoughton,  "  that  he 
might  bring  choice  whedt  into  this  wilderness." 

These  early  ministers  of  New  England,  are 
divided  by  Mather,  into  three  classes ;  1.  Those 
who  were  ordained  and  in  the  actual  exercise  of 
the  ministry  when  they  left  England  ;  and  were 
the  first  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  to  establish 
churches  according  to  the  scriptural  model  in 
this  country.  2.  Young  scholars,  who  came 
over  from  England  with  their  parents  and  friends, 


*  See  Letters  on  the  Puritans,  by  J.  B.  Williama, 
t  Magnolia,  B.  IIL 


10      LIFE      OP     THOMAS     SHEFABD. 

and  completed  their  education, — already  begun 
at  home, — in  this  country,  before  the  college  was 
in  a  condition  to  bestow  its  honors.  3.  Those 
who  came  over  to  New  England  after  the  re- 
establishment  of  Episcopacy  in  the  mother  coun- 
try, and  the  revival  of  that  persecution  which 
was  designed  as  James  I.  declared,  to  force  the 
Puritans  to  conform,  or  to  "  harry  them  out  of 
the  kingdom." 

To  these,  Mather  adds  a  fourth  class,  which 
he  calls,  fitly  enough,  the  "  Anomalies  of  New 
England,"  that  is,  a  few  ministers  from  other 
parts  of  the  world,  who  proved  either  so  errone- 
ous in  their  principles,  or  so  scandalous  in  their 
lives,  or  so  hostile  to  the  order  of  the  churches, 
that  they  cannot  be  classed  among  our  "  worthies," 
and  deserve  no  honorable  notice  from  us.* 

Mr.  Shepard,  whose  life  we  here  attempt  to 
delineate,  belonged  to  the  first  class  of  ministers, 
who  were  instrumental  in  laying  the  foundation, 
and  in  settling  the  order  of  the  first  churches  in 
Massachusetts  :  and  although  his  humility  ever 
constrained  him  to  take  the  lowest  place,  yet  in 
learning,  talents,  piety  and  influence,  he  was  not 
a  whit  behind  the  "  verychiefest  of  the  apostles 
of  Congregationalism,  in  the  New  world.      He 


*Magaalia,B.  III. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPAKD.       11 

was  one  of  those  "  wise  master  builders  " — few 
in  number,  but  great  in  all  that  constitutes  true 
excellence, — to  whom  we  owe  whatever  of  sim- 
plicity, strength,  or  solidity  belongs  to  our  eccle- 
siastical system,  and,  we  may  add,  to  our  civil 
state.  His  name  may  not  be  so  often  pronounced 
in  discourse  respecting  the  original  constitution 
of  our  churches,  as  that  of  John  Cotton,  who 
has  been  called,  and  not  improperly,  the  "  Fa- 
ther of  Congregationalism  "  in  New  England  ; 
but  the  part  he  acted,  and  the  influence  he  ex- 
erted in  fashioning  these  churches  according  to 
the  "  pattern  shewed  in  the  mount,"  entitled  him 
to  equal  honor.  Not  inferior  to  Norton,  Hooker, 
or  Davenport,  in  intellectual  strength  and  logical 
acuteness,  he  perhaps  excelled  them  all  in  that 
fine,  beautiful,  practical  spirit,  which  was  at  that 
time  more  needed  than  even  genius,  and  in  con- 
templating which,  we  become  insensible  to  the 
greatness  of  his  talents  and  the  extent  of  his 
learning.  Although  he  was  a  prominent  and  an 
efficient  actor  in  scenes  of  controversy  and  pub- 
lic disorder,  which  stirred  up  all  the  fountains  of 
bitterness,  such  were  his  candor  and  tenderness, 
that  the  odium  of  persecution  was  never  attached 
to  his  memory;  and  while  subject  to  like  passions, 
and  exposed  to  the  same  temptations  as  other 
men,  his  reputation -has  descended  to  us  without 


12      LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEFARD. 

a  blot  from  the  hand  of  friend  or  foe.  It  is  not 
too  much,  therefore,  to  say,  that  Mr.  Shepard 
was  a  man  whom  Massachusetts  and  New  Eng- 
lan'd  ought  to  hold  in  profound  respect ;  and 
his  life,  if  it  receives  any  thing  like  justice 
from  his  biographer,  will  be  read  with  interest 
and  profit  by  all  classes  of  the  community. 

Thomas  Shepard  was  born  at  Towcester,  near 
Northampton,  in  Northamptonshire,  England, 
on  the  fifth  day  of  November  1605.  His  own 
statement,  in  his  Autobiography,  is,  that  he 
/  was  born  "  in  the  year  of  Christ  1604,  upon 
the  fifth  day  of  November,  called  the  Powder 
Treason  day,  and  at  that  very  hour  of  the 
day  wherein  the  Parliament  should  have  been 
blown  up  by  popish  priests  ;"  which  induced  his 
father  to  g^ve  him  this  name,  Thomas,  "  because, 
he  said,  I  would  hardly  believe  (an  allusion  to 
the  skepticism  of  the  apostle  Thomas)  that  ever 
any  such  wickedness  should  be  attempted  by 
men  against  so  religious  and  good  a  Parliament." 
As  it  is  certain  that  the  famous  Powder  Plot  was 
contrived,  if  contrived  at  all,  in  1605,  and  was  to 
have  been  executed  on  the  fifth  day  of  November, 
we  are  obliged  to  place  Mr.  Shepard's  birth  in 
this  year,  and  on  this  day,  notwithstanding  the 
contradictory  date  with  which  he  begins  his  ac- 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.      13 

count  of  himself;  for  it  is  more  likely  that  he 
should  have  forgotten,  at  the  moment  of  writing, 
the  exact  date  of  the  Powder  Plot,  than  the  fact, — ' 
so  indissolubly  associated  with  his  name, — that 
according  to  the  family  record  and  tradition  he 
was  born  at  the  very  hour  when  the  Parliament 
was  to  have  been  blown  up  by  gunpowder. 

The  father  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir, 
William  Shepard,  was  born  in  Fossecut,  a  small 
town  near  Towcester.  He  was  bred  to  the  busi- 
ness of  a  grocer  by  a  Mr.  Bland,  whose  daugh- 
ter he  married,  and  by  whom  he  had  nine  chil- 
dren ;  three  sons,  John,  William,  and  Thomas ; 
and  six  daughters,  Ann,  Margaret,  Mary,  Eliza- 
beth, Hester,  and  Sarah.  He  seems  to  have 
been  a  wise,  prudent,  and  peace-loving  man ; 
and,  towards  the  close  of  his  life,  very  prosperous 
in  his  business.  That  he  was  also  a  godly  man,  in 
the  sense  in  which  the  Puritans  used  that  phrase, 
appears  from  the  fact  that  he  removed  to  Banbury, 
in  Oxfordshire,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  enjoying 
the  light  of  an  evangelical  and  effective  minis- 
try, a  blessing,  which,  it  seems,  could  not  be  had 
at  Towcester.  A  worldly  man,  or  a  mere  formal- 
ist in  religion,  was  not  likely  to  sacrifice  his 
temporal  interests  in  order  to  promote  the  wel- 
fare of  his  soul,  nor  leave  a  quiet  and  respecta- 
ble establishment,  like  the   English  church,  for 

VOL.     IV.  2 


14      LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPABD. 

such  preaching  as  was  at  that  time  heard  from 
Puritan  pulpits. 

In  the  early  training  and  ultimate  develop- 
ment and  formation  of  a  man's  mind,  the  charac- 
ter and  influence  of  his  mother  are  of  preemi- 
nent importance.  The  seed  that  is  to  germinate 
and  bear  fruit  in  mature  life,  is  ordinarily  plant- 
ed by  the  maternal  hand  during  the  first  years 
of  childhood.  The  influence  which  is  to  sur- 
round the  growing  intellect  like  an  atmosphere, 
and  act  upon  it  at  every  stage  of  its  progress, 
flows  most  frequently  from  the  heart  near  which 
the  young  immortal  has  been  nourished ;  and 
happy  is  the  child  who  can  remember  nothing 
earlier  than  those  looks,  tones,  prayers,  and  tears, 
which  are  the  natural  expressions  of  maternal 
piety.  They  can  never  be  forgotten ;  and  amidst 
the  most  powerful  temptations,  and  the  wildest 
conflicts  of  passion,  they  throng  around  the 
soul  with  warning  and  beseeching  voice,  to  with- 
draw it  from  danger,  or  to  awaken  it  to  repent- 
ance. Augustine  acknowledged  that  he  owed 
his ' conversion,  under  God,  to  the  tears  and 
prayers  of  his  mother ;  and  Cecil  says  that  he 
should  have  been  an  infidel  if  it  had  not  been 
for  the  quiet,  but  perpetual  influence  of  her 
whom  he  loved  above  all  other  beings.  Mr. 
Shepard  was  blessed  with  a  pious  mother.     She 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPAKD.      15 

was  a  woman  of  a  tender  and  affectionate  dispo- 
sition, and  "  much  afflicted  in  conscience,  some- 
times even  unto  distraction,"  but  she  was  "  sweet- 
ly recovered,"  and  passed  her  latter  days  in  the 
enjoyment  of  mental  serenity,  and  religious 
peace.  She  prayed  much  for  her  children,  and 
especially  for  Thomas,  "  her  youngest  and  best 
beloved,"  upon  whose  mind  she  seems  to  have 
left  the  impress  of  her  gentle  and  pious  spirit,  as 
well  as  of  her  tender  and  scrupulous  conscience, 
which  were  its  most  distinguishing  characteris- 
tics in  after  life.  She  died  when  Thomas  was 
about  four  years  old  ;  but  young  as  he  was,  he 
was  sensible  of  the  "  exceeding  love  "  which  she 
felt  for  him,  and  during  the  darker  season  which 
followed,  he  remembered  her  with  a  correspond- 
ing afiection. 

When  Thomas  was  about  three  years  of  age 
he  was  sent  to  reside  with  his  grandparents  at 
Fossecut,  in  order  to  avoid  an  epidemic  disease 
which  had  begun  to  prevail  at  Towcester,  and 
soon  swept  away  several  members,  sisters  as  well 
as  servants,  from  his  father's  family.  Fossecut 
was  a  small,  obscure,  and  wicked  place, — "  a  most 
blind  town  and  corner."  The  aged  grandfather 
and  grandmother,  though  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances as  to  temporal  matters,  were  "  very  igno- 
rant," and,  as  we  should  naturally  infer  from  the 


§      LIFJ£      OF     THOMAS     SHEFABS. 

manner  in  which  they  dealt  with  the  little  boy 
committed  to  their  care,  very  irreligious  people ; 
for  here  he  was  "  put  to  keep  geese,  and  other 
such  country  work,"  all  the  while  "  much  neg- 
lected "  by  those  who  should  have  watched  over 
him.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before  he  was 
removed  from  the  influence  of  his  grandparents, 
probably  in  consequence  of  this  neglect,  to  the 
family  of  his  uncle,  at  Adthrop,  an  adjoining 
town.  The  change  seems  to  have  been  not  much 
for  the  better;  for  Adthrop  was  "a  little  blind 
town ;  "  and  while  he  there  received  more  atten- 
tion, and  was  somewhat  happier  and  more  con- 
tented, he  learned  to  "  sing  and  sport  as  children 
did  in  those  parts,  and  to  dance  at  their  Whit- 
son-Ales," — amusements  which  were  far  more 
pernicious  to  childhood  than  "keeping  geese,  and 
other  such  country  work."  For  these  sports 
were  not  the  innocent  plays  and  recreations  of 
children  among  themselves,  which  all  persons, 
even  the  Puritans,  morose  and  gloomy  as  they 
are  (falsely)  represented  to  have  been,  must  have 
approved ;  but  those  demoralizing  wakes,  morris- 
dances,  may- games,  revels,  &c.,  recommended 
and  sanctioned  by  that  abomination,  "  The  Book 
of  Sports,"  which  James  I.,  and  after  him  Charles, 
"  out  of  a  pious  care  for  the  service  of  God," 
and  desiring  with  filial  reverence  to  "  ratify  his 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARB.      17 

blessed  father's  declaration,"  ordered  to  be  read 
in  all  the  churches,  for  the  "  encouragement  of 
recreations  on  the  Lord's  day."  The  common 
people  were  fond  of  these  sports ;  but  the  Puri- 
tans, and  the  more  serious  portion  of  the  com- 
munity generally,  regarded  them  with  strong  dis- 
approbation, not  only  as  grossly  profaning  the 
Sabbath,  but  as  being  the  fruitful  source  of  drunk- 
enness, debauchery,  contempt  of  authority,  quar- 
rels, and  even  murders  ;  and  efforts  were  made 
from  time  to  time  by  the  justices  of  peace,  to 
have  them  suppressed  as  highly  prejudicial  to 
the  peace,  and  good  government  of  the  coun- 
try."^  It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  Shep- 
ard,  in  mature  life,  should  have  looked  back 
upon  his  early  childhood,  in  which  he  was  ex- 
posed to  the  corrupt  influence  of  these  sports,  as 
a  season  of  peculiar  danger,  from  which  he  was 
mercifully  delivered  by  a  kind  providence. 

When  Thomas  returned  again  to  his  father's 
house,  which  he  did  after  the  cause  of  his  re- 
moval from  home  had  passed  by,  he  found  all 
things  changed,  or  fast  changing  for  the  worse. 
His  "  dear  mother  "  was  dead,  or  died  very  soon 
after  his  return.  His  sister  Margaret,  who  was 
very  fond  of  him,  married  her  father's  clerk.  His 
sister  Ann,  was  married  to  "  one  Mr.  Farmer." 


*  Neal,  Hiat.  Purit.  2.  249. 

2# 


18      LIFE      OF     THSMAI     SHSPAED. 

And  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  his  griefs,  his  fa- 
ther married  a  second  wife,  who  soon  made  him 
aware  of  the  difference  between  his  "  own  mother 
and  a  step-mother."  She  evidently  did  not  love  the 
little  motherless  boy,  and  endeavored  to  incense 
his  father  against  him  ;  "  it  may  be,"  says  Shep- 
ard,  meekly,  "  that  it  was  justly  so,  for  my  child- 
ishness." The  neglect  at  grandfather's,  and  the 
"  Whitson-Ales,"  at  the  "  blind  little  town  "  of 
Adthrop,  may  have  rendered  the  forlorn  child 
somewhat  wayward  and  troublesome ;  but  th« 
probability  is,  that  the  step-mother  magnified 
and  misrepresented  every  fault  of  the  orphan, 
that  her  own  little  Samuel  might  enjoy  a  larger 
share  of  his  father's  affection. 

After  suffering  under  this  domestic  tyranny 
for  some  time,  he  was  sent  to  the  free  school  in 
Towcester.  But  this  was  to  him  the  school  of 
"  one  Tyrrannus,"  or  of  "  Ajax  Flagellifer." 
The  master  whose  name  was  Rice,  a  Welch- 
man,  was  very  severe  and  irritable ;  and  he 
treated  the  poor  boy  with  such  harshness  and 
cruelty,  as  to  extinguish,  for  the  time,  all  love 
of  learning,  and  to  make  him  often  wish  that  he 
might  be  a  "  keeper  of  hogs  "  rather  than  a  schol- 
ar. "Bears,"  says  Pliny,  "are  the  fatter  for 
beating."  But  this  is  not  always  or  altogether 
true  of  boys,  especially  of  such  boys  as  Thomas 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.       19 

Shepard,  who,  it  is  presumed,  rarely  needed 
chastisement,  and  was  more  likely  to  be  injured 
than  benefited  by  severity.  "  The  fierce,  Orbil- 
ian  way  of  treating  children,  too  commonly  used 
in  schools,  is  a  dreadful  curse  of  God  upon  our 
miserable  offspring,  who  are  born  "  children  of 
wrath."  It  is  boasted  now  and  then  of  a  school- 
master, that  such  and  such  a  brave  man  had  his 
education  under  him.  There  is  nothing  said, 
how  many  that  might  have  been  brave  men, 
have  been  destroyed  by  him ;  how  many  brave 
wits  have  been  dispirited,  confounded,  murdered 
by  his  barbarous  way  of  managing  them.  If  a 
fault  must  be  punished,  let  instruction,  both  unto 
the  delinquent  and  unto  the  spectator,  accompa- 
ny the  correction.  Let  the  odious  nature  of  the 
sin  that  has  enforced  the  correction  be  declared ; 
and  let  nothing  be  done  in  a  passion ;  let  all  be 
done  with  all  the  evidence  of  compassion  that 
may  be."* 

William  Shepard, — the  father, — died  when 
Thomas  was  about  ten  years  of  age.  During 
his  last  sickness,  which  was  short  and  very  dis- 
tressing, the  oppressed  and  dispirited  child,  to 
whom  life  had  begun  to  present  its  sternest  re- 
alities, prayed  passionately  for  his  recovery; 
and  he  made  a  solemn  resolution  to  serve  God 


*  Eawys  to  Do  Good,  pp.  172, 173. 


20      LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

better  than  he  had  done,  if  his  prayers  might  be 
answered ;  "  as  knowing  that  I  should  be  left 
alone  if  he  were  gone.  Yet  the  Lord  took  him 
away  by  death,  and  I  was  left  fatherless  and 
motherless,  when  I  was  about  ten  years  old." 
It  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  these  prayers,  that 
at  this  early  age  he  entertained  any  hope  that 
he  was  a  christian  ;  for  children  who  have  been 
religiously  educated,  will  often,  under  the  press- 
ure of  affliction,  pray  very  earnestly  for  relief; 
but  from  the  fact  that  he  made  a  solemn  cove- 
nant "  to  serve  God  better"  if  his  father  might 
recover,  we  may  presume  that  he  had  been  under 
very  serious  impressions,  and  had  tried  to 
maintain  a  kind  of  religion  in  his  life. 

Upon  the  death  of  his  father,  he  was  committed 
to  the  care  of  his  mother-in-law,  who,  in  consid- 
eration of  his  portion  of  £100,  agreed  to  main- 
tain and  educate  him.  But  he  was  still  doomed 
to  be  "  much  neglected,"  and  to  feel  more  keen- 
ly than  ever  the  difference  between  his  "  own 
mother  and  a  step-mother."  She,  as  was  to 
have  been  expected  from  her  previous  conduct, 
proved  faithless  to  her  trust ;  and  at  last  his 
brother  John, — William  being  now  dead, — of- 
fered to  take  him,  and  for  the  use  of  his  portion, 
to  bring  him  up  as  his  own  child.  "  And  so  I 
lived  with  this  my  eldest  brother,  who  showed 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPAED.      21 

much  love  unto  me,  and  unto  whom  I  owe 
much  ;  for  him  God  made  to  be  both  father  and 
mother  unto  me." 

About  this  time  the  cruel  Welch  schoolmas- 
ter died,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  school  by 
a  man  of  talents  and  of  reputed  piety,  who 
was  also  employed  to  officiate  as  the  minister 
of  the  town.  Although  he  disappointed  the 
expectations  of  the  people  with  respect  to  his 
piety,  and  afterwards  became  an  "  apostate  and 
an  enemy  of  all  righteousness,"  he  seems  to 
have  been  an  able  teacher  :  for  he  succeeded  in 
reviving  or  awakening  in  the  mind  of  young 
Shepard, — who  had  conceived  such  a  disgust 
of  study  that  he  had  rather  "  keep  hogs  or 
beasts,  than  to  go  to  school  and  learn," — a  love 
of  application,  and  a  strong  desire  to  be  a  scholar. 
Under  this  new  stimulus,  he  applied  himself 
with  great  diligence  to  the  Latin  and  Greek  lan- 
guages, in  which  he  made  rapid  progress.  He 
was  studious,  because  he  was  "  ambitious  of  be- 
ing a  scholar,"  and  of  enjoying  •'  the  honor  of 
learning."  At  the  same  time  he  seems  to  have 
been,  to  a  certain  extent,  influenced  by  some 
higher,  if  not  a  truly  religious  motive  :  for  once 
when  he  was  unsuccessful  in  taking  notes  of  the 
sermon,  he  was  troubled  about  it,  and  "  prayed 
the  Lord  earnestly,"  for  assistance  in  this  exer- 


22      LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEFAED. 

cise ;  a  fact  which,  at  least,  indicates  a  deep 
sense  of  his  dependence  upon  God  for  success  in 
his  studies,  and  a  feeling  that  he  was  bound  to 
seek  the  honor  which  cometh  from  above,  as 
well  as  the  "  honor  of  learning."  But  what- 
ever his  ruling  passion  might  have  been,  and 
whatever  maybe  inferred  as  to  his  religious 
state  at  this  time,  from  his  general  seriousness, 
we  know  that  he  devoted  himself  to  the  necessa- 
ry studies  with  such  diligence,  and  was  enabled 
to  make  such  progress  in  them,  that  before  he 
had  reached  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  was  pro- 
nounced by  competent  judges  to  be  fit  for  the 
University, 


LIFE     OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.        23 


CHAPTER    II. 

Mr.  Shepard  enters  Emmanual  College,  Cambridge.  Devotes  himself 
to  hard  study.  Neglects  religion.  Becomes  proud  of  a  little  learn- 
ing. Has  the  small-pox.  Effect  of  Dr.  Chadderton's  preaching. 
Associates  with  dissipated  young  men.  Remonstrated  with  by 
religious  friends.  Falls  into  a  gross  sin.  Effect  of  this  sin  upon  hia 
conscience.  Dr.  Preston.  Deep  Convictions.  Distressing  tempta- 
tions. Despair.  Dawning  of  light.  Letter  to  a  friend.  Increasing 
light.  Change  of  life.  Peace  of  mind.  Application  to  study. 
Graduates  with  honor. 

The  brother  of  Mr.  Shepard,  having  undertaken 
the  care  of  his  education,  was  anxious  to  send 
him  to  College.  But  probably  the  expense  of  a 
collegiate  course,  exceeded,  at  that  time,  his  pe- 
cuniary means ;  and  the  portion  of  £100,  of 
which  he  had  the  use,  would  hardly  defray  the 
charges  of  a  residence  at  either  of  the  Universi- 
ties. At  this  moment,  so  critical  and  decisive 
in  the  life  of  the  almost  friendless  scholar,  Mr. 
Cockerill,  a  fellow  of  Emmanuel  College,  Cam- 
bridge, and  a  native  of  Northamptonshire, 
came  to  Northampton  upon  a  visit  to  his 
friends  ;  and,  having  satisfied  himself  by  a  per- 
sonal examination  that  Shepard  was  worthy  of 
patronage,  encouraged  his  brother  to  send  him 


24      LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEFARD. 

to  Cambridge,  promising  to  use  his  influence 
there  in  his  behalf.  Other  persons,  connected 
with  the  University,  interested  themselves  in 
this  application,  and  although  he  was,  in  his 
own  opinion,  "  very  raw  and  young,"  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  Emmanuel  College  as  a  pensioner  in 
the  year  1619.  During  the  early  part  of  his 
College  course,  Mr.  Cockerill,  who  had  so 
kindly  encouraged  and  befriended  him,  was  his 
Tutor.  Thus  this  chosen  vessel,  forsaken  of 
father  and  mother,  and  cast  helpless  upon  the 
world,  was  by  "  a  secret  hand  of  providence," 
taken  out  of  "  that  profane  and  ignorant  town  of 
Towcester,"  the  "  worst  town,  I  think,  in  the 
world,"  and  graciously  provided  for  in  Cam- 
bridge, "  the  best  place  for  knowledge  and 
learning,"  where  he  was  to  be  prepared,  by  a 
various  discipline,  for  an  arduous  and  important 
service  in  the  church  of  God. 

Up  to  this  period,  although  he  seems  to  have 
been  at  times  deeply  serious,  and  to  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  praying  frequently  under  the 
pressure  of  affliction,  he  was  evidently  destitute 
of  a  saving  knowledge  of  the  truth.  During 
the  first  two  years  of  his  College  life,  he  devoted 
himself  to  hard  study,  greatly  neglecting  relig- 
ion and  the  practice  of  secret  prayer,  which  he 
had  hitherto  observed,  except  at  times,  when  his 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.      25 

early  religious  impressions  revived  with  consid- 
erable force,  and  he  was  induced  to  pay  some 
attention  to  the  concerns  of  his  soul.  The  effect 
of  a  little  learning  was  what  is  often  witnessed 
upon  minds  of  his  order.  When  in  his  third 
year,  he  became  Sophister,  he  began  to  be 
"  foolish  and  proud,"  and  to  exhibit  himself  ia 
public  as  a  disputer  about  things  which  he  after- 
wards saw  he  "  did  not  know  then  at  all,  but 
only  prated  about  them."  Time  and  more 
learning  corrected  this  folly,  and  made  him  one 
of  the  humblest,  as  he  was  one  of  the  devoutest 
of  men.  It  would  be  well  if  he  had  more  im- 
itators in  the  feelings  with  which  he  looked 
back  upon  this  stage  of  his  intellectual  develop- 
ment. "  There  is  nothing  more  lamentable," 
says  Luther,  in  his  Table  Talk,  "  than  the  pride 
and  ambition  of  many  young  preachers,  who 
wish  to  shine  as  logicians,  rhetoricians,  &c.,  and 
become  so  finical  and  obscure  in  their  preaching, 
that  neither  the  people  nor  themselves  know 
what  they  are  about.  A  young  lawyer,  in  his 
first  year,  is  a  Justinian ;  in  his  second  year, 
he  is  a  doctor ;  in  the  third  a  licentiate  ;  in  the 
fourth  a  bachelor ;  in  the  fifth  a  student." 

But  Mr.  Shepard  was  not  left  to  neglect  the 
interests  of  his  soul  in  his  ambitiori  to  shine  as 
a  scholar,  and  a  "disputer  of  this  world."    In 

VOL.    IV.  3 


S6      LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHBFARD. 

his  second  year  he  was  brought  near  to  the  grave 
by  the  small-pox,  which  had  awakened  him,  in 
some  measure,  to  a  sense  of  his  guilt  and  dan- 
ger. The  preaching  of  Doctor  Chadderton,  the 
Master  of  Emmanual  College,  especially  upon 
"  a  sacrament  day,"  also  produced  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  his  mind.  And  a  few  months  af- 
terwards, he  heard  Mr.  Dickinson,  in  the  Chap- 
el, discourse  upon  the  words,  '  I  will  not  destroy 
it  for  ten's  sake,'  with  a  powerful  effect  upon  his 
conscience.  But  these  serious  impressions  grad- 
ually disappeared,  and  he  unfortunately  fell  into 
the  society  of  some  dissipated  young  men,  who 
endeavored  to  counteract  and  destroy  all  the  in- 
fluence of  those  pious  preachers.  He  even,  for 
a  time,  went  with  them  in  their  time-wasting, 
and  soul-destroying  amusements  and  pleasures, 
and  seemed  fast  making  shipwreck  of  faith  and 
a  good  conscience.  But  he  was  not  suffered  to 
continue  long  in  this  thoughtless  state.  Upon 
one  occasion,  a  pious  student,  with  whom  he 
chanced  to  be  walking,  described  to  him  »'  the 
misery  of  every  man  out  of  Christ,"  and  faith- 
fully admonished  him  of  his  guilt  and  danger. 
This  awakened,  and  for  a  time  checked  him  in 
his  course  of  folly  and  sin.  At  another  time  he 
happened  to  be  present  when  several  pious  per- 
sons were  conversing  upon  the  wrath  of  God, 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.       27 

revealed  from  heaven  against  all  unrighteous- 
ness and  ungodliness  of  men,  which  they  spoke 
of  under  the  figure  of  a  consuming  fire,  intoler- 
able and  eternal.  This  conversation  revived 
and  strengthened  the  solemn  impressions  which 
had  been  previously  made  upon  his  mind,  and 
led  him  to  resume  the  practice  of  secret  prayer, 
as  a  means  of  escaping  from  that  wrath  to  come 
which  he  so  much  feared. 

But  he  had  not  yet  seen  the  evil  of  his  heart, 
nor  felt  that  conviction  of  sin  which  prostrates 
the  soul  before  the  throne  of  Grace  in  godly 
sorrow  that  worketh  repentance  unto  life.  The 
effect  of  the  conversations  referred  to,  soon  wore 
off,  as  other  serious  impressions  had  done ;  until 
an  event  occurred  which  revived  them  all  with 
overwhelming  force,  and  made  him  feel,  as  he 
had  never  felt  before,  the  need  of  atoning  blood 
to  cleanse  him  from  all  sin.  The  sin  of  Peter, 
and  its  immediate  effect,  are  left  upon  the  sacred 
record  to  show  us  the  depth  to  which  men  may 
fall  if  left  to  themselves, — to  encourage  the 
penitent  sinner  to  return  with  tears  to  the  Sav- 
iour against  whom  he  has  sinned, — and  to  exhibit 
the  riches  of  divine  grace  which  can  rescue  the 
soul  from  the  deepest  degradation ;  and  for  the 
same  reasons,  we  record  the  fact  which  follows, 


28      LIFE     OF     THOMAS     SHEFABD. 

earnestly  admonishing  the  reader  to  beware  of 
using  it  as  an  encouragement  to  sin,  lest  his 
"  bands  be  made  strong,"  and  repentance  be  hid 
from  his  eyes.  As  the  fears  which  had  been 
awakened  by  the  solemn  addresses  of  his  pious 
friends  gradually  subsided,  Shepard  again  associ- 
ated with  the  loose  and  dissipated  students  of  his 
own  and  of  other  colleges,  and  frequently  joined 
them  in  their  intemperate  carousals  :  until  at 
length,  upon  a  Saturday  night,  he  drank  so 
freely  that  he  became  grossly  intoxicated,  and 
was  carried,  in  a  state  of  insensibility,  to  the 
chambers  of  a  student  of  Christ's  College,  where 
he  awoke  to  consciousness  late  on  Sabbath 
morning,  sick  and  completely  prostrated  from 
the  effects  of  this  debauch. 

The  moral  impression  of  a  fall  like  this,  is 
very  different  upon  different  persons.  Some  of 
those  dissolute  young  men,  probably,  thought  of 
that  night's  excess,  only  as  a  matter  to  be  laughed 
about  at  their  next  convivial  meeting.  Not  so 
with  Shepard.  Filled  with  confusion  and  shame 
by  the  recollection  of  his  "  beastly  carriage,"  he 
hurried  away  into  the  fields,  and  there  hid  him- 
self, during  the  whole  of  that  dreadful  Sabbath, 
from  every  eye  but  that  of  God.  The  particu- 
lar sin,  however,  which  made  him  afraid,  and 
drove   him,  like  Adam,  into   concealment,  not 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.      29 

only  awakened  him  to  pungent  sorrow  for  this 
act,  but  opened  his  eyes  to  see  the  exceeding 
sinfulness  of  his  whole  life,  and  the  necessity  of 
repentance  for  all  his  sins.  It  was  a  day  long 
to  be  remembered,  for  it  was  the  commencement 
of  a  new  life.  In  that  solitude,  where  he  lay 
trembling  like  a  culprit,  *'  the  Lord,  who  might 
justly  have  cut  me  off  in  the  midst  of  my  sin,  did 
meet  me  with  much  sadness  of  heart,  and  trou- 
bled my  soul  for  this  and  other  sins,  which  then 
I  had  leisure  to  think  of,  and  made  me  resolve 
to  set  upon  a  course  of  daily  meditation  about 
the  evil  of  sin,  and  my  own  ways."  Let  those 
who  are  disposed  to  speak  lightly  or  scornfully 
of  the  early  transgressions  of  eminent  Christians, 
remember  the  bitter  tears  with  which  they  were 
lamented  and  abandoned. 

But  with  all  this  trouble  of  mind,  and  com- 
punction on  account  of  actual  sins,  he  had  not 
yet  obtained  a  true  self-knowledge,  nor  seen  the 
hidden  evils  of  his  heart.  To  this  deeper  and 
clearer  view  of  himself  as  a  sinner,  he  was  led 
by  the  preaching  of  Dr.  Preston,  one  of  the 
most  able  theologians  and  preachers  of  his  times, 
who  became  master  of  Emmanuel  College  in 
1622.  Shepard,  hearing  the  preaching  of  Dr. 
Preston  spoken  of  as  "  most  spiritual  and  excel- 
3* 


30      LIFE     OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

lent,"  by  Samuel  Stone  and  others,  listened 
attentively  to  the  instructions  of  this  celebrated 
divine,  hoping  to  find  here  that  guidance  in  the 
way  of  righteousness  which  he  so  much  needed. 
The  first  sermon  which  he  heard  from  Dr.  Pres- 
ton was  upon  the  words,  "  Be  ye  transformed 
by  the  renewing  of  your  mind,"  Rom.  12  :  2 ; 
in  which  the  nature  of  a  change  of  heart  was 
clearly  unfolded.  Under  this  discourse  "  the 
Lord  so  bored  my  ears,  as  that  I  understood 
what  he  spake  ;  the  secrets  of  my  soul  were  laid 
open  before  me,  and  the  hypocrisy  of  all  the 
good  things  I  thought  I  had  in  me,  as  if  one  had 
told  him  of  all  that  ever  I  did, — of  all  the  turn- 
ings and  deceits  of  my  heart."  So  clearly  was 
he  made  to  see  himself, — his  secret  sins, — the 
whole  frame  and  temper  of  his  mind, — that  he 
thought  Dr.  Preston  "  the  most  searching 
preacher  in  the  world ;"  and  wiih  profound 
gratitude  to  God,  and  love  for  the  preacher,  he 
began  in  earnest  to  seek  for  that  radical  conver- 
sion and  renewal,  the  nature  of  which  had  been 
so  clearly  exhibited  to  him. 

This  new  birth,  however,  was  not  to  be  for 
Shepard,  as  it  appears  to  be  in  some  cases,  a 
speedy  or  an  easy  work.  Many  pass  from  a 
state  of  sin  and  condemnation,  to  the  light,  lib- 
erty and  hope  of  the  children  of  God,  in  such 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.       31 

a  way  that  their  whole  experience  in  relation  to 
this  change  may  be  expressed  in  the  words 
of  the  blind  man  whom  the  Saviour  suddenly 
and  by  a  miraculous  touch,  restored  to  sight : 
"  Whereas  I  was  blind,  now  I  see."  But  Shep- 
ard's  conviction  of  sin  had  been  exceedingly 
pungent  and  distressing,  and  his  progress  to  a 
state  of  reconciliation  and  peace  with  God,  was 
rough,  protracted,  and  painful.  He  was  beset 
with  fears  of  death  and  "  the  terrors  of  God's 
wrath."  In  his  daily  meditation  "constantly 
every  evening  before  supper,"  he  found  the  Lord 
ever  teaching  him  something  concerning  him- 
self, or  the  divine  law,  or  the  vanity  of  the 
world,  which  he  never  saw  before,  and  which 
filled  him  with  perplexity  and  overwhelming 
solicitude.  He  was  also  assaulted  by  sharp 
temptations.  At  one  time  he  felt  "  a  depth 
of  atheism  and  unbelief  in  the  main  matters 
of  salvation," — whether  the  Scriptures  were  the 
word  of  God, — whether  Christ  was  the  Messiah, 
— whether  there  was  a  God.  At  another  time 
he  t;"  felt  all  manner  of  temptations  to  all 
kinds  of  religions,  not  knowing  which  to 
choose."  At  last  he  "  heard  of  Grindleton," 
and  was  in  danger  of  falling  into  perfection- 
ism, familism,  antinomianism,  or  whatever 
that  system  was  called,  which  afterwards  made 


32      LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEFARD. 

such  havoc  in  the  infant  churches  of  New 
England.  He  did  not  really  adopt  or  believe 
any  of  the  absurd  doctrines  ot  the  familists, 
but  only  went  so  far  in  these  "  miserable  fluc- 
tuations and  straits  of  his  soul,"  as  to  ques- 
tion "  whether  that  glorious  state  of  perfection 
might  not  be  the  truth,  and  whether  old  Mr. 
Rogers'  *♦  Seven  Treatises,"  and  the  ♦'  Practice  of 
Christianity," — books  which  were  then  esteem- 
ed as  containing  very  sound  theology, — "  might 
not  be  legal,"  and  these  writers  "  legal  men  ;" 
a  singular  hallucination,  from  which  he  was 
soon  delivered  by  reading  in  one  of  the  familist 
books  the  astounding  doctrine,  that  a  Christian 
is  so  swallowed  up  in  the  spirit,  "  that  what  ac- 
tion soever  the  spirit  moves  him  to  commit, 
suppose  adultery,  he  may  do  it,  and  it  is  no  sin 
to  him."  This  passage,  like  an  over  dose  of 
poison,  operated  exactly  contrary  to  its  nature 
and  design.  Tempted  as  he  was  to  "  all  kinds 
of  religion,"  he  could  not  digest  this  doctrine  of 
devils ;  and  the  horrible  absurdity  of  the  propo- 
sition awakened  in  him  an  intense  abhorrence 
of  the  whole  system  to  which  it  belonged,  which 
in  after  years,  and  in  more  critical  times,  ren- 
dered him  a  most  determined  and  successful  op- 
poser  of  antinomianism,  as  we  shall  see  in  the 
progress  of  this  biography. 


LIFE     OF     THOMAS     SHEPARl).      33 

In  the  mean  time  the  other  temptations  by 
which  he  was  led  to  doubt  the  genuineness  of 
Christ's  miracles,  and  in  short,  the  truth  of 
Divine  revelation,  continued  with  unabated,  if 
not  with  increasing  severity ;  so  that  at  last, 
having  questioned  whether  Christ  did  not  cast 
out  devils  by  Beelzebub,  he  conceived  the  dread- 
ful idea  that  he  had  committed  the  unpardona- 
ble sin,  and  was  abandoned  to  hopeless  apostasy 
and  destruction.  And  now  "  the  terrors  of  God 
began  to  break  in,  like  floods  of  fire,"  into  his 
soul.  He  saw,  as  he  then  thought,  in  these  re- 
bellious doubts,  and  in  this  chaotic  darkness  of 
mind,  the  fruits  of  "  God's  eternal  reprobation." 
He  thought  of  God  as  "  a  consuming  fire  and 
an  everlasting  burning,"  and  himself  as  a  "  poor 
prisoner  led  to  that  fire."  And  these  "  thoughts 
of  eternal  reprobation  and  torment,"  so  distressed 
him,  especially  "  at  one  time  upon  a  Sabbath 
day  at  evening,"  that  be  became  well  nigh  dis- 
tracted, and  was  strongly  tempted,  like  Judas,  to 
anticipate  his  doom,  and  by  suicide  hurry  to  his 
own  place. 

During  eight  dark  and  dismal  months  these 
"fiery  darts  of  satan"  were  incessantly  hurled' 
at  his  peace,  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  help  for 
his  poor  soul  in  God  or  man ;  for  he  was  afraid 
of  God,  and  was  "  ashamed  to  speak  of  these 


34      LIFE     OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

things  "  to  any  experienced  Christian.  Three 
things,  according  to  Luther,  are  necessary  to  form 
a  theologian,  namely,  study,  prayer  and  tempta- 
tion. And  doubtless  Shepard's  gloomy  passage 
through  this  "  slough  of  despond "  was  neces- 
sary to  give  him  a  clear  and  an  affecting  view 
of  his  misery  and  helplessness  as  a  sinner, — to 
fix  more  firmly  in  his  mind  those  doctrines 
which  he  was  subsequently  to  preach, — to  make 
him  humble  under  the  honor  that  awaited 
him, — and  to  fit  him  to  apply  the  promises  of 
the  Gospel  judiciously  to  distressed  consciences. 
Like  Luther,  he  learned  the  true  divinity  by  be- 
ing "  hunted  into  the  Bible,"  and  to  the  throne 
of  grace ;  and  he  was  eminently  fitted  to  sym- 
pathize with  the  afflicted,  by  those  horrible 
temptations  which  almost  broke  his  spirit  and 
drove  him  to  despair.  At  the  same  time,  his 
peculiar  experience,  both  in  his  descent  into 
these  "  depths  of  satan,"  and  in  the  manner  of 
his  deliverance  from  them,  tended  to  give  to  his 
preaching  and  writings  that  "legal"  aspect, 
which  there  will  be  occasion  to  speak  of  more 
particularly  hereafter. 

His  conflicts  were  now  drawing  to  a  close, 
and  light  was  about  to  dispel  the  horror  of  that 
darkness  in  which  his  mind  had  been  so  long 
shrouded.     When  he   was  at  the  worst,  not 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      35 

knowing  what  to  do,  and  not  daring  to  disclose 
his  feelings  to  any  person,  it  occurred  to  him 
that  he  should  do  as  Christ  did  in  his  agony. 
The  Saviour  prayed  earnestly,  and  an  angel 
came  down  to  comfort  him  ;  and  this  seemed  to 
be  the  only  way  of  relief.  Shut  up  to  this,  he 
fell  down  in  agonizing  supplication,  and  "  being 
in  prayer,  I  saw  myself  so  unholy,  and  God  so 
holy  that  my  spirit  began  to  sink ;  yet  the 
Lord  recovered  me,  and  poured  out  a  spirit  of 
prayer  upon  me  for  free  mercy  and  pity ;  and  in 
the  conclusion  of  the  prayer,  I  found  the  Lord 
helping  me  to  see  my  unworthiness  of  any 
mercy,  and  to  leave  myself  with  him  to  do  with 
me  what  he  would.  And  then,  and  never  till 
then,  I  found  rest ;  and  so  my  heart  was  hum- 
bled, and  I  went  with  a  stayed  heart  to  supper 
late  that  night,  and  so  rested  here,  and  the  ter- 
rors of  the  Lord  began  to  assuage  sweetly." 

To  a  friend  who  afterwards  inquired  of  him 
how  the  atheistical  thoughts  which  had  tor- 
mented him  were  removed,  he  thus  writes  : 
*'  The  Lord  awakened  me,  and  bid  me  beware 
lest  an  old  sore  break  out  again.  And  this  I 
found,  that  strength  of  reason  would  commonly 
convince  my  understanding  that  there  was  a 
God ;  but  I  felt  it  utterly  insufficient  to  persuade 
my  will  of  it,  unless  it  was  by  fits,  whenas  I 


36      LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEFARD. 

thought  God's  spirit  moved  upon  the  chaos  of 
those  horrible  thoughts;  and  this  I  think  will 
be  found  a  truth.  I  did  groan  under  the  bond- 
age of  those  unbelieving  thoughts,  looking  up, 
and  sighing  to  the  Lord,  that  if  he  were,  as  his 
works  and  word  declared  him  to  be,  he  would 
please  to  reveal  himself  by  his  own  beams,  and 
persuade  my  heart  by  his  own  spirit  of  his  es- 
sence and  being,  which,  if  he  would  do,  I  should 
account  it  the  greatest  mercy  that  ever  he  showed 
me.  And  after  g^rievous  and  heavy  perplexities, 
when  I  was  by  them  almost  forced  to  make  an 
end  of  myself  and  sinful  life,  and  to  be  my  own 
executioner,  the  Lord  came  between  the  bridge 
and  the  water,  and  set  me  out  of  anguish  of 
spirit,  to  pray  unto  him  for  light  in  the  midst  of 
so  great  darkness.  In  which  time  he  revealed 
himself,  manifested  his  love,  stilled  all  those 
raging  thoughts,  so  that  though  I  could  not  read 
the  Scripture  without  blasphemous  thoughts  be- 
fore, now  I  saw  a  glory,  a  majesty,  a  mystery, 
a  depth  in  it,  which  fully  persuaded  :  and  which 
light, — I  desire  to  speak  it  to  the  glory  of  his 
free  grace,  seeing  you  call  me  to  it, — is  not 
wholly  put  out,  but  remains,  while  I  desire  to 
walk  closely  with  him,  unto  this  day.  And 
thus  the  Lord  opened  my  eyes,  and  cured  me  of 
my  misery:  and  if  any  such   base   thoughts 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD..37 

come  (like  beggars  to  my  door)  to  my  mind, 
and  put  these  scruples  to  me,  I  use  to  send  them 
away  with  this  answer ;  why  should  I  question 
that  truth,  which  I  have  both  known  and  seen."* 
To  the  period  referred  to  in  this  extract,  the 
conversion  of  Mr.  Shepard  must  be  assigned ; 
but  he  did  not  at  once  obtain  full  assurance  and 
a  settled  peace.  The  firm  earth  upon  which  he 
had  at  length  landed,  seemed  to  heave  under 
him  like  the  stormy  sea  where  he  had  been  so 
long  tossed,  and  for  awhile  he  walked  unsteadily 
and  with  fear.  When  his  distracting  doubts, 
and  dreadful  apprehensions  of  God's  wrath  were 
gone,  he  still  felt  his  unworthiness, — his  bond- 
age to  self  and  the  world, — his  unfitness  for  any 
good  work, — and  was  oppressed  with  the  dread 
of  losing  what  God  had  already  wrought  in  him. 
But  walking,  on  one  occasion,  in  the  fields, 
"  the  Lord  dropped  this  meditation "  into  his 
mind,  with  a  distinctness  and  force  which  made 
it  appear  almost  like  an  address ;  "  Be  not  dis- 
couraged because  thou  art  so  vile,  but  make  this 
double  use  of  it ;  first,  loathe  thyself  the  more ; 
secondly,  feel  a  greater  need  and  put  a  greater 
price  upon  Jesus  Christ,  who  only  can  redeem 
thee  from  all  sin."     This  thought  greatly  en- 


*  Select  Cases  Besolred,  pp.  44,  4$. 
VOL,    IV.  4 


38     LIFK      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

couraged  him,  and  he  was  thus  enabled  to  "  beat 
satan  with  his  own  weapons." 

His  outward  life  was  now  wholly  changed. 
He  abstained  from  all  appearance  of  evil.  He 
no  longer  associated  with  the  g^y  and  the 
thoughtless.  And  he  felt  it  to  be  his  duty,  not 
only  to  exhibit  an  example  of  holy  living,  but  to 
labor  in  all  appropriate  ways  for  the  conversion 
of  his  fellow  students.  So  much  progress  he  had 
made,  without  any  direct  assistance  from  human 
instructors,  and  without  obtaining  any  assur- 
ance of  his  pardon  and  acceptance  with  God. 
He  had  been  working  out  his  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling,  alone ;  and  although  his 
face  was  toward  Zion,  and  his  feet  in  the  way 
of  the  divine  precepts,  he  needed,  like  ApoUos, 
that  some  one  should  expound  unto  him  the  way 
of  God  more  perfectly,  and  to  lead  him  to  take 
those  views  of  Christ  and  of  his  redemptive 
work,  which  were  necessary  to  to  a  cheerful 
hope,  and  an  appropriation  of  the  promises  of 
grace. 

At  this  stage  of  his  experience,  and  in  this 
state  of  mind.  Dr.  Preston  providentially 
preached  a  sermon  upon  1  Cor.  1  :  30 ;  "  But 
of  him  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  of  God  is 
made  unto  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and 
sanctification,   and   redemption,"   in  which  he 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      39 

showed  that  there  is  in  Christ  an  ample  supply 
for  all  our  spiritual  wants,  and  that  this  treasure 
is  designed  for  the  benefit  of  all  Christians.  "  And 
when  he  had  opened  how  all  the  good,  all  the 
redemption  I  had,  was  from  Jesus  Christ,  I  did 
then  begin  to  prize  him,  and  he  became  very 
sweet  to  me."  Although  he  had  often  heard 
Christ  freely  offered  by  ministers  before,  if  men 
would  receive  him  as  their  Lord  and  Saviour, 
yet  he  had  found  his  heart  "  ever  unwilling  to 
accept  of  Christ  upon  those  terms."  But  now 
Christ  became  precious  to  his  soul,  and  he  found 
it  easy  to  comply  with  the  conditions  upon  which 
all  the  blessings  of  redemption  were  promised. 

He  was  not,  however,  entirely  free  from  all 
fears  and  doubts.  But  he  found  the  Lord 
constantly  "  revealing  free  mercy,"  and  showing 
him  that  all  his  ability  to  believe  in  Christ, 
and  to  accept  of  him,  was  in  this  grace  of  God. 
He  saw  that  Christ  obeyed  the  law,  not  on  his 
own  account,  but  to  work  out,  and  bring  in 
"  everlasting  righteousness "  for  poor  sinners 
who  had  none  of  their  own, — a  righteousness 
which  is  sufficient  to  "justify  the  ungodly  who 
believeth  in  Jesus."  He  saw  also  that  "  to  as 
many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave  He  power 
to  become  the  sons  of  God,"  and  he  felt  that  the 
Lord  had  given  him  "  a  heart  to  receive  Christ 


40       LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

with  a  naked  hand."  And  so,  after  many  con- 
flicts, and  questionings,  he  obtained  that  peace 
of  God  which  passeth  knowledge,  and  com- 
menced that  life  of  faith,  which,  as  the  shining 
light,  shone  brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  per- 
fect day. 

Although  these  religious  exercises  must  have 
occupied  a  considerable  portion  of  his  time,  and 
have  rendered  all  human  learning  and  worldly 
honor  comparatively  worthless,  yet  he  seems  to 
have  maintained  a  highly  respectable  standing  in 
college  ;  and  after  the  decided  change,  which 
has  been  described,  took  place,  and  religion  began 
to  shed  its  light  and  peace  upon  his  soul,  a 
rapid  development  of  his  intellectual  powers 
became  evident.  There  is  nothing  that  gives 
such  elevation,  strength,  and  enlargement  to  the 
mind,  as  the  practical  reception  of  the  word  of 
God  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
"  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wis- 
dom, and  the  knowledge  of  the  holy  is  under- 
standing." Shepard,  in  common  with  many 
others,  felt  the  invigorating  effect  of  that  heav- 
enly knowledge ;  and  in  after  years,  when 
young  men  consulted  him  with  respect  to  their 
studies,  he  was  accustomed  to  refer  to  this  in- 
fluence of  religion  upon  his  own  mind,  and  to 
advise  them  to  spend  a  considerable  portion  of 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD,      41 

their  time  in  communing  with  their  own  hearts 
and  with  God,  a  practice  which  he  had  found 
so  beneficial  in  all  his  intellectual  efforts.  Thus, 
at  peace  with  God, — with  a  definite  object  of 
pursuit  before  him, — and  in  the  diligent  applica- 
tion of  himself  to  all  his  studies, — he  continued 
through  the  remainder  of  his  college  life.  He 
took  his  Bachelor's  degree  in  1623 ; — not  far 
from  the  time,  as  we  should  judge,  when  he 
experienced  the  radical  change  in  his  religious 
feelings  above  described  ;  and  in  1625,  when  he 
had  finished  his  course  of  study,  he  left  college, 
with  a  high  reputation  for  scholarship,  and  with 
the  usual  honors  of  the  University. 


4* 


42      LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEFARD 


CHAPTER    III. 

Mr.  Shepard  goes  to  Mr.  Weld's.  Sketch  of  English  Ecclesiastical 
history.  State  of  England  at  the  accession  of  Henry  VIII.  Doc- 
trines  of  the  Waldenaes.  Wickliff.  Remonstrance  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  Wickliff.  Separation  of  the  English  Church  from  Rome. 
Henry  VIII  becomes  head  of  the  Church.  Act  of  supremacy. 
Opinions  of  the  i)eople.  Edward  VI.  Origin  of  the  Liturgy. 
Mary  and  Elizabeth.  Slate  of  the  nation.  Act  of  Uniformity. 
Court  of  High  Commission.  Subscription  enforced.  Era  of  non- 
conformity and  separation.  Penalty  for  abs«nce  from  public 
worship.  Distinction  between  Non-conformista  and  Brownists. 
Nature  of  schism: 

Mr.  Shepard  became  Master  of  Arts  in  the  year 
1627.  About  six  months  before  taking  his  de- 
gree, he  went  to  reside  in  the  family  of  Thomas 
Weld,  (then  of  Tarling,  in  the  county  of  Essex, 
and  afterwards  ordained  the  first  minister  of  the 
church  in  Roxbury)  where  he  received  much 
aid  in  his  theological  studies,  and  encourage- 
ment in  his  Christian  course.  Here  he  became 
acquainted  with  Thomas  Hooker,  who  about 
that  time  was  appointed  a  Lecturer  at  Chelms- 
ford, in  Essex,  from  whose  able  and  discriminat- 
ing ministry  he  derived  great  advantage.  While 
engaged  in  his  studies  and  preparation  at  Tar- 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.     43 

ling,  he  became  "  very  solicitous  what  would 
become  of  him,"  when  he  had  taken  his  Mas- 
ter's degree  ;  for  then  his  "  time  and  portion 
would  be  spent,"  and  he  would  be  left  without 
resources,  and  with  small  hope  of  finding  any 
employment  for  which  he  was  fitted. 

The  religious  condition  of  England,  at  that 
time,  was  very  dark  and  perplexed  •,  and  the 
prospects  of  pious  young  men,  who  like  Thomas 
Shepard,  desired  to  serve  God  and  their  genera- 
tion in  the  gospel  ministry,  were  exceedingly 
discouraging.  Although  the  picture  of  those 
times  has  been  often  drawn,  and  the  circum- 
stances which  compelled  our  fathers  to  abandon, 
not  only  the  church  in  which  they  had  been  ed- 
ucated, but  the  country  that  gave  them  birth, 
have  been  often  and  eloquently  described,  yet  it 
may  not  be  amiss  to  give,  in  this  place,  a  brief 
sketch  of  the  history  of  that  gloomy  period,  that 
our  youthful  readers  may  clearly  understand 
what  it  was  that  made  Mr.  Shepard  so  "  solic- 
itous what  should  become  of  him,"  and  why  he 
could  not  devote  his  talents  and  piety  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry  in  protestant  England. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Henry  the 
Eighth,  who  ascended  the  throne  of  England  in 
the  year  1509,  the  English  church  was  a  branch 
of  that  Papal  hierarchy,  which  had  extended  its 


44      LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

power  over  the  civilized  world,  and  like  the  great 
red  dragon  of  the  Apocalypse,  had  swept  away  a 
large  part  of  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  cast  them 
to  the  earth,  rendering  the  skies  black,  and  the 
night  hideous.  During  the  long  and  tyrannical 
reign  of  that  apostate  church,  however,  there 
were  a  few  faithful  witnesses  for  the  truth  who 
testified  and  were  persecuted,  like  Antipas,  even 
in  the  region  where  "  Satan's  seat "  was.  In 
the  valleys  of  the  Alps,  the  Waldenses,  uncor- 
rupted  by  the  errors,  and  una  wed  by  the  power 
of  Rome,  retained  the  doctrines,  and  observed 
the  discipline  of  the  primitive  church.  The 
history  of  these  people  is  indeed  somewhat  ob- 
scure ;  but  from  their  own  declarations,  corrob- 
orated by  the  confessions  of  some  of  their  worst 
enemies,  it  appears  highly  probable  that  they 
could  trace  the  origin  of  their  churches  back  to 
the  age  of  the  Apostles,  and  that  their  religious 
doctrines  and  practices  were  substantially  those 
which  long  afterwards  were  adopted  and  main- 
tained by  the  English  Puritans.  They  rejected 
the  books  of  the  Apocraphy  from  the  sacred 
canon.  They  kept  the  Sabbath  very  strictly. 
They  were  extremely  careful  of  the  religious 
education  of  their  children.  They  denied  the 
supremacy  of  the  Pope,  the  lawfulness  of  indul- 
gences,  auricular   confession,   prayers   for   the 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPAKD.      45 

dead,  transubstantiation,  invocatioa  of  saints, 
and  the  worship  of  the  virgin  Mary.  They  ab- 
horred the  mass,  the  doctrine  of  purgatory,  and 
in  short,  all  the  unscriptural  ceremonies,  super- 
stitions, and  abominations  of  the  papacy.  They 
committed  the  pastoral  care  of  their  churches  to 
ministers  freely  chosen  by  themselves,  who  were 
expected,  in  conformity  to  the  apostolic  injunction, 
to  be  examples  to  the  flock,  in  word,  in  conver- 
sation, in  faith,  in  purity,  in  charity.  Their 
whole  aim  seems  to  have  been  to  realize  in  their 
form  of  ecclesiastical  government,  and  in  the 
lives  both  of  the  clergy  and  of  the  people,  that 
sanctity  and  godly  simplicity,  which  character- 
ized the  commencement  of  the  church,  and 
which  were  so  beautifully  exhibited  in  the  pre- 
cepts and  example  of  Jesus  Christ."^ 

Thus,  three  hundred  years  before  the  Eef- 
ormation,  we  find  a  company  of  sturdy  reform- 
ers, who  had  never  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal, — a 
remnant  according  to  the  election  of  grace, — 
who  prepared  the  way,  and  furnished  the  means 
for  the  final  overthrow  of  "  that  man  of  sin," 
that  "  son  of  perdition,"  who  "  exalteth  himself 
above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshiped." 
They  were  the  Protestants  of  the  twelfth  centu- 


*  Mosheim,  Eccl.  Hist.  cent.  12,  ch.  12, 


46      LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

ry ;  and  were  called  Catkari,  pure,  on  account 
of  the  professed  purity  of  their  doctrines  and 
life,  just  as  our  fathers  were  afterwards  in  scorn 
styled  Puritans,  for  their  opposition  to  the  errors 
and  corruptions  of  their  times. 

The  Reformation,  which  many  erroneously 
suppose  to  have  commenced  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  was  nothing  more  than  the  rejection  of 
doctrines  and  practices,  which  men,  in  the 
course  of  ages  had  ignorantly  or  wickedly  added 
to  the  religion  of  Christ.  And  this  work  was 
commenced  by  the  faithful  servants  of  God  as 
soon  as  the  evil  began.  The  great  Head  of  the 
church  had  never  left  himself  without  a  few 
witnesses,  at  least,  to  testify  against  the  errors 
that  were  constantly  mingling  with  his  truth. 
The  Romanists  ask  with  an  air  of  triumph, 
"  Where  was  your  religion  before  Luther's  Ref- 
ormation ?"  We  answer,  that  in  the  darkest 
times  of  the  antichristian  apostasy,  the  true 
church,  and  the  doctrines  which  Luther,  and 
Calvin,  and  our  fathers  preached,  were  found 
among  the  Waldenses,  three  hundred  years  be- 
fore the  time  of  Luther ;  and  they  were  but  the 
successors  and  representatives  of  still  earlier  re- 
formers, who  protested  with  what  strength  they 
had  against  the  encroachments  of  the  "  man  of 
sin."     It  was  from  these  people  that  the  doc- 


LIFE      OP     THOMAS      SHEPARD.      47 

trines  of  the  Reformation  were  disseminated  in 
England  and  on  the  continent,  and  had  it  not 
been  for  them,  perhaps  neither  Wickliflf  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  nor  Luther  in  the  sixteenth, 
would  have  appeared  as  reformers.  During  the 
fierce  persecutions  to  which  they  were  constant- 
ly exposed  in  the  thirteenth  century  from  the 
papal  church,  some  of  them  fled  into  Germany  ; 
while  others,  turning  to  the  west,  found  refuge 
in  England.  Eaymond  Lollard,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing men  among  the  Waldenses,  promulgated  their 
doctrines  in  the  land  of  our  fathers,  where  they 
were  called  "  Lollards;"  and  where,  from  the  fact 
that  so  late  as  the  year  1619  there  was  a  tower 
standing  in  London,  which  inconsequence  of  its 
use  as  a  place  of  confinement  for  those  who  pro- 
fessed their  religion,  was  called  "  The  Lollard's 
Tower,"  it  would  seem  that  they  did  not  wholly 
escape  the  malice  of  that  antichristian  power 
which  consumed  their  fathers  and  brethren  as 
heretics  in  Italy. 

The  doctrines  held  by  the  Waldenses,  were 
received  and  taught  by  John  Wickliff,  the  earli- 
est of  the  English  reformers.  Wickliflf  was 
born  about  the  year  1324.  He  was  educated  af 
Queen's  College,  Oxford,  in  which  he  was  after- 
wards Professor  of  Divinity,  and  was  for  a  time 
minister  of  Lutterworth,  in  the  diocese  of  Lin- 


48      LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

coin.  He  was  a  profound  scholar,  and  an  elo- 
quent preacher.  Though  born  and  educated 
amidst  all  the  darkness  of  popery,  he  preached, 
substantially,  the  same  doctrines  which  were 
afterwards  maintained  by  the  Puritans ;  and  one 
hundred  and  thirty  years  before  the  Reforma- 
tion, vindicated  those  great  principles,  which, 
under  the  preaching  of  Luther,  Calvin,  and  oth- 
ers, enlightened  the  world,  and  produced  that 
movement  towards  religious  and  civil  liberty, 
which  must  eventually  be  enjoyed  by  all  nations. 
He  wrote  nearly  two  hundred  volumes ;  but  his 
greatest  work  was  the  translation  of  the  New 
Testament  into  English. 

"WicklifT  died  in  1384.  After  his  death,  the 
University  published  the  following  testimony 
concerning  him  :  *'  That  from  his  youth  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  his  conversation  was  so 
praiseworthy,  that  there  never  was  any  spot  or 
suspicion  reported  of  it :  that  in  his  reading  and 
preaching  he  behaved  like  a  stout  and  valiant 
champion  of  the  faith  ;  and  that  he  had  written 
in  Logic,  Philosophy,  Divinity,  Morality,  and 
the  Arts,  without  an  equal."  Without,  howev- 
er, supposing  that  Wickliff  was  either  immacu- 
late in  life,  or  absolutely  free  from  theological 
errors,  we  may  regard  him  as  a  bold  defender  of 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SSEPARD.      49 

fundamental  truths,  and  the  "  morning  star  "  of 
the  Eeformation  in  England. 

In  the  year  1425,  after  he  had  been  dead  more 
than  forty  years,  the  council  of  Constance  or- 
dered all  his  works  to  be  collected  and  burnt, 
together  with  his  bones.  This  diabolical  order 
was  executed  by  Richard  Fleming,  bishop  of 
Lincoln,  who  caused  the  remains  of  the  excom- 
municated reformer  to  be  dug  up,  burnt,  and  the 
ashes  to  be  thrown  into  a  brook.  "  Thus,"  says 
Fuller,  "this  brook  hath  conveyed  his  ashes  into 
Avon ;  Avon  into  Severn ;  Severn  into  the 
Narrow  Seas  ;  they  into  the  main  ocean.  And 
thus  the  ashes  of  Wickliffare  the  emblem  of  his 
doctrine  which  is  now  disseminated  all  the 
world  over."^  The  number  of  his  disciples  in- 
creased so  greatly  after  hjs  death,  that  new  and 
more  severe  laws  were  made  against  heretics,  in 
the  hope,  vain  as  all  such  hopes  must  be,  that 
force  would  prevent  the  spread  of  truth,  and  the 
dungeon  and  the  stake  put  an  end  to  the  efforts 
of  Christians  to  rescue  the  people  from  the 
thraldom  of  error.  Fox,  the  Martyrologist,  re- 
ferring to  the  posthumous  persecution  of  Wick- 
liff,  remarks,  "  that  as  there  is  no  counsel  against 
the  Lord,  so  there  is  no  keeping  down  truth, 


*  Church  History,  B.  IV.,  p.  171. 
VOL,    IV.  5 


60      LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARU. 

but  it  will  spring  and  come  out  of  dust  and  ash- 
es, as  appeared  in  this  man.  For  they  digged 
up  his  body,  burnt  his  bones,  and  drowned  his 
ashes,  yet  the  word  of  God,  and  truth  of  his  doc- 
trine, with  the  fruit  and  success  of  his  labors, 
they  could  not  bum,  and  they  remain,  for  the 
most  part,  to  this  day."* 

About  eight  years  after  Wickliff's  death,  his 
followers  presented  a  remonstrance  to  the  Eng- 
lish Parliament,  in  which  they  speak  of  Roman- 
ism just  as  Shepard  did,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  later.  They  say,  that  when  the  Church 
of  England  began  to  mismanage  her  temporal- 
ities in  conformity  to  the  precedent  of  Rome, 
faith,  hope,  and  charity,  began  to  take  leave  of 
her  communion ;  that  the  English  priesthood, 
derived  from  Rome,  and  pretending  to  a  power 
superior  to  angels,  is  not  the  priesthood  which 
Christ  settled  upon  his  apostles  ;  that  the  enjoin- 
ing celibacy  upon  the  clergy  was  the  occasion  of 
scandalous  irregularities  in  the  church ;  that  the 
pretended  miracle  of  transubstantiation  runs  the 
great  part  of  Christendom  upon  idolatry ;  that 
exorcisms  and  benedictions,  pronounced  over 
bread  and  oil,  wax  and  incense,  over  the  stones 
of  the  altar,  the  holy  vestments,  the  mitre,  the 


*  Acu  and  Monuments,  1.  606. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.      51 

cross,  and  the  pilgrim's  staff,  have  more  of  necro- 
mancy than  of  religion  in  them ;  that  the  union 
of  the  offices  of  prince  and  bishop,  prelate  and 
secular  judge,  in  the  same  person,  and  making 
the  rector  of  a  parish  a  civil  officer,  is  a  plain 
mismanagement,  and  puts  a  kingdom  out  of  the 
right  way ;  that  prayer  made  for  the  dead  is  a 
wrong  ground  for  charity  and  religious  endow- 
ments, and  therefore  all  the  charities  of  England 
stand  upon  a  wrong  foundation ;  that  pilgrim- 
ages, prayers,  and  offerings,  made  to  images  and 
crosses,  have  nothing  of  charity  in  them,  and 
are  near  of  kin  to  idolatry ;  that  auricular  con- 
fession makes  the  priests  proud,  and  lets  them 
into  the  secrets  of  the  penitent,  gives  opportuni- 
ty for  intrigues,  and  that  this,  as  well  as  the 
doctrine  of  indulgences,  is  attended  with  scan- 
dalous consequences;  that  the  vow  of  single  life 
undertaken  by  women  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, is  the  occasion  of  horrible  disorders. "=^ 
These  were  sound  doctrines,  and  well  put  to  the 
reason  and  conscience  of  the  Parliament ;  but 
they  wrought  no  change,  and  rendered  it  no 
safer  to  preach  or  practice  them.  Persecution 
raged  against  the  Lollards, — as  all  who  desired 
a  reformation  of  the  church  were  now  called, — 


*  Collier,  Eel.  Hist.  1.  cent,  14, 


62      LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

under  Henry  the  Fifth ;  but  the  more  they  were 
persecuted  the  more  they  increased,  and  they 
sowed  the  whole  of  England  with  good  seed, 
which,  nourished  by  the  blood  of  the  martyrs, 
has  continued  to  bring  forth  good  fruit  to  this 
day. 

The  first  rupture  between  the  English  church 
and  the  papal  hierarchy,  and  the  commencement 
(^i  what  has  been  called  the  Reformation  in 
England,  were  occasioned,  not  by  a  change  of 
religious  opinions  either  in  the  ruling  powers,  or 
the  great  mass  of  the  people,  but  by  causes  purely 
selfish  and  worldly.  Henry  the  Eighth,  a  man, 
not  only  destitute  of  all  personal  religion,  but  pos- 
sessed of  all  the  vile  and  abominable  passions 
which  can  degrade  humanity,  wished  to  obtain 
from  the  Pope  a  divorce  from  his  queen,  Katha- 
rine, that  he  might,  with  the  sanction  of  the 
church,  marry  Anne  Boleyn,  who  had  been  an 
attendant  upon  the  queen.  The  ground  which 
he  assigned  for  this  divorce  was  so  absurd 
that  even  the  Pope,  unscrupulous  as  he  was  in 
respect  to  other  matters,  and  strongly  as  he 
was  inclined  to  grant  the  request  of  his 
powerful  subject,  could  not  be  prevailed  upon 
to  sanction  it.  Whereupon  Henry,  not  to  be 
defeated  in  his  cruel  purpose,  resolved  to  make 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      53 

himself    the   supreme    head    of    the    English 
church. 

His  first  act  of  retaliation  upon  the  Pope,  was 
a  proclamation,  in  which  all  persons  were  for- 
bidden to  purchase  any  thing  from  Rome,  under 
the  severest  penalties.  In  1534,  being  the. 
twenty-sixth  year  of  his  reign,  the  Act  of  Su- 
premacy, which  took  from  the  Pope  all  authori- 
ty and  power  over  the  church  in  England,  and 
gave  to  the  king  all  authority  whatever  in  ec- 
clesiastical afTairs,  was  passed  by  the  Parlia- 
ment. This  Act  declares  that  "  the  king,  his 
heirs,  and  successors,  kings  of  England,  shall  be 
taken,  accepted,  and  reputed  the  only  Supreme 
Head  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  and  shall  have 
and  enjoy,  annexed  and  united  to  the  imperial 
crown  of  this  realm,  as  well  the  title  and  style 
thereof,  as  all  the  honors,  immunities,  profits, 
and  commodities,  to  the  Supreme  Head  of  the 
church  belonging;  and  shall  have  full  power 
and  authority  to  visit,  repress,  redress,  and 
amend  all  such  errors,  heresies,  abuses,  con- 
tempts, and  enormities,  whatsoever  they  be, 
which  by  any  manner  of  spiritual  authority  or  ju- 
risdiction, ought  or  may  be  lawfully  reformed,  re- 
pressed, ordered,  redressed,  counciled, restrained, 
or  amended,  most  to  the  pleasure  of  Almighty 
God,  and  increase  of  virtue  in  Christ's  religion, 
5* 


i54      LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEFARD. 

imd  for  the  conservation  of  peace,  unity,  and 
tranquility  of  this  realm,  any  usage,  custom, 
foreign  law,  foreign  authority,  prescription,  or 
any  thing  or  things  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing." 

This  Act  was  the  commencement  of  what  has 
been  called  the  "  Reformation "  in  England. 
But  it  was  not  such  an  act  as  the  state  of  the 
church  demanded.  It  was  conceived  in  sin,  and 
brought  forth  in  iniquity.  It  gave  no  relief  to 
burdened  consciences,  nor  freedom  to  the  souls 
that  were  crying  from  under  the  altar.  It  made 
no  change  in  doctrine,  nor  breathed  any  new 
life  into  the  dead  formalities  of  the  old  religion. 
Jt  simply  transferred  the  church,  like  a  flock 
of  sheep,  from  a  rapacious  pope,  to  a  brutal 
iind  licentious  king ;  and  gave  to  a  civil  in- 
stead of  an  ecclesiastical  tyrant,  the  sole  power 
^  reforming  abuses,  heresies,  and  errors,  with- 
out the  slightest  regard  to  the  rights  of  con- 
fcience,  or  the  laws  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  was  an 
act  which  in  banishing  the  pope,  banished  the 
King  of  Zion  from  his  appropriate  domain,  and 
enthroned  one  who  might  be  called  literally,  a 
"  jTian  of$i7i"  in  the  church, — for  he  was  one  of 
the  most  wicked  of  men, — authorizing  him,  as 
God,  to  sit  in  the  temple,  and  to  usurp  the  au- 
thority of  God.     It  was  continually  fortified,  and 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.      55 

its  provisions  extended,  by  subsequent  acts  of 
Parliament.  In  the  thirty-seventh  year  of  this 
reign,  a  law  was  passed  which  declares  "  that 
arch-bishops,  bishops,  arch-deacons,  and  others, 
have  no  manner  of  jurisdiction  ecclesiastical, 
but  by,  under,  and  from  the  king's  authority,  the 
only  undoubted  supreme  head  of  the  Church  of 
England,  to  whom,  by  holy  Scripture,  all  au- 
thority and  power  is  wholly  given  to  hear  and 
determine  all  manner  of  causes  whatsoever,  and 
to  correct  all  manner  of  heresies,  errors,  vices, 
and  sins  whatever ;  and  to  all  such  persons  as 
his  Majesty  shall  appoint  thereunto."  Under 
this  law  chancelors,  commissioners,  and  other 
officers,  never  heard  of  in  the  primitive  church, 
were  appointed;  and,  to  secularize  the  church 
as  effectually  as  possible,  the  king  in  the  exer- 
cise of  his  unlimited  power,  committed  all  the 
most  important  ecclesiastical  matters  to  laymen. 
This  exorbitant  power  in  the  political  head  of  the 
church,  was  confirmed  in  the  reign  of  Edward  the 
Sixth,  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  of  James  I.,  and  of 
Charles  II.;  and  until  the  reign  of  William  and. 
Mary,  all  clergymen  were  compelled  to  acknowl- 
edge it  in  the  oath  of  supremacy, — an  oath  which 
transferred  their  allegiance,  as  Christians,  from 
Christ  to  the  king  of  England,  and  made  them 
traitors  to  the  cause  which  all  true  ministers  are 


56      LIFE     OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD. 


bound  by  a  more  solemn  and  stringent  oath  to 
defend  at  all  hazards.* 

Although  the  Church  of  England  was  thus 
effectually  separated  from  the  church  of  Rome, 
and  emancipated  from  the  authority  of  the  pope, 
the  great  body  of  the  inferior  clergy,  and  of  the 
people,  countenanced  and  encouraged  by  many 
leading  men  both  in  church  and  state,  adhered 
firmly  to  the  old  opinions  and  practices  ;  and 
although  during  the  reign  of  this  capricious  and 
cruel  tyrant,  there  was  much  confiscation  of 
church  property,  and  persecution  of  Roman 
Catholics,  there  was  but  very  little  reformation 
from  the  worst  corruptions  of  popery.  How 
could  the  church  be  purified  by  such  a  beast  as 
Henry  the  Eighth,  and  by  time-serving  men  like 
Cranmer,  who  were  always  ready  to  become 
the  tools  of  a  power  that  neither  feared  God  nor 
regarded  man  ? 

Edward  the  Sixth,  a  youth  of  very  difllerent 
disposition  and  temper  from  his  father, — of  visi- 
ble piety  even, — ascended  the  throne  in  1547. 
Under  his  reign  some  change  for  the  better  was 
effected  in  the  condition  of  the  oppressed  and 
suflfering  church.  Two  of  the  statutes  against 
the  Lollards,  arid  several  oppressive  popish  laws, 


*  Neal,  Hiat  Purii  2,  ch.  1.    Pierc«,  Viadicalion  of  Diwenten 
7—9.    Hume,  Hin.  Engl.  A.  D.  ISM. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      57 

were  repealed,  and  others  more  favorable  to 
truth  and  liberty,  enacted  jj|y  the  Parliament 
which  assembled  soon  after  the  accession  of  the 
young  king.  A  committee  of  divines  was  ap- 
pointed to  examine  and  reform  the  worship  of 
the  church,  who  finding  the  clergy  generally 
incapable  of  composing  either  sermons  or 
prayers,  set  forth  a  book  of  Homilies,  and  a 
Liturgy  for  their  use.  This  change  in  the  wor- 
ship of  the  church  was  the  foundation  of  that 
Uniformity  which  was  subsequently  established 
by  the  government,  and  exacted  with  such  un- 
sparing rigor  by  those  in  power,  that  many  of 
the  most  pious  and  useful  ministers  in  England, 
like  Shepard  and  his  associates,  who  had  con- 
scientious scruples  respecting  the  propriety  of 
some  of  these  offices,  were  obliged  to  abandon 
the  ministry,  or  like  the  woman  of  the  Revela- 
tion, flee  into  the  wilderness  where  God  had 
prepared  a  place  for  them. 

Nothing  can  be  more  certain  than  that  in  the 
first  and  purest  age  of  the  church,  there  was  no 
such  thing  as  a  uniform  Liturgy  which  all  wor- 
shipers were  obliged  to  use  and  conform  to. 
Very  few  forms  appear  to  have  been  used  for 
three  hundred  years,  and  those  were  not  imposed 
upon  the  people  by  ecclesiastical  or  civil  power. 


63      LIFE      OF      THOMAS      EHEPARD. 

In  those  times  Christian  worship  consisted  of 
hymns, — prayers,-r-(which,  as  TertuUian  says, 
were  offered  sine  monitore,  quia  de  pectore, 
•without  a  prompter,  because  they  came  from  the 
heart,) — the  reading  of  the  Scriptures, — and  the 
celebration  of  the  Lord's  supper.  It  was  not 
until  the  fourth  century  that  set  forms  were  in- 
troduced, and  ministers  were  forbidden  to  use 
any  prayers  in  the  churches  except  such  as  were 
composed  by  able  men,  or  approved  by  the  Syn- 
ods ;  and  even  this  innovation,  as  Shepard  re- 
marks, grew  out  of  the  gross  and  palpable  igno- 
rance of  the  ministry  in  those  contentious  and 
heretical  times,  and  was  enforced  in  order  to 
prevent  the  scandalous  scenes  which  were  com- 
mon in  churches  where  the  pastors  were  incapa- 
ble of  preaching  or  praying  to  the  edification 
of  the  people. 

By  degrees,  however,  the  worship  of  the 
church,  which,  from  the  beginning  had  been 
very  simple,  notwithstanding  the  forms  that  had 
from  time  to  time  been  introduced,  began,  as 
Burnet  remarks,  to  be  thought  too  naked,  unless 
"  put  under  more  artificial  rules,  and  dressed  up 
with  much  ceremony,"  and  therefore  various 
rites  and  ceremonies,  better  fitted  to  please  the 
eye,  and  strike  the  imagination  than  to  promote 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      59 

the  godly  edifying  of  the  worshiper,  were  con- 
tinually added.  Still  there  was  no  universal 
uniformity  of  worship.  Every  bishop  adopted 
that  form  which  he  thought  best  adapted  to  the 
times  and  to  the  temper  of  his  own  people.  And 
this  diversity  continued  until  the  bishop  of 
Rome,  among  other  acts  of  usurpation,  pretend- 
ed that  it  belonged  to  the  mother  church,  to  fur- 
nish a  model  of  doctrine  and  of  worship  to 
which  all  the  churches  in  Christendom  ought  to 
conform.  But  even  under  the  dominion  of  the 
pope,  there  was  great  diversity  in  the  forms  of 
worship,  and  absolute  uniformity  was  never  ef- 
fected until  it  was  forced  upon  the  English 
church  after  its  separation  from  Rome. 

The  committee  of  divines  who  prepared  the 
English  Liturgy  under  Edward  the  Sixth,  found 
a  great  variety  of  forms,  and  much  diversity  in 
respect  to  worship,  existing  in  the  church.  In 
the  south  of  England  there  was  the  liturgy  of 
Sarum ;  in  the  north,  that  of  the  Duke  of  York  ; 
in  south  Wales,  that  of  Hereford;  in  north 
Wales,  that  of  Bangor;  in  the  diocese  of  Lin- 
coln, one  which  was  peculiar  to  that  see."*  The 
committee  collected  all  these  offices, — this  "  cop- 
per counterfeit  coin," — as  Shepard  calls  it, — "  of 


*  Burnet,  Hist.  Reform.  H.  71,  72. 


60       LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

a  well  grown  antichrist,  whereby  he  cheated  the 
churches  when  he  stole  away  the  golden  legacy 
of  Christ," — with  the  design  of  forming  out  of 
them  a  new  Liturgy  which  should  be  used  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  and  by  every  congregation. 
They  thought  that  entire  uniformity,  both  in 
doctrine  and  worship,  was  necessary  to  the 
purity  and  peace  of  the  church ;  and  were  de- 
termined that  the  diversity  which  had  been  tol- 
erated in  the  darkest  times  of  popery,  should  no 
longer  be  allowed  in  protestant  England.  They 
attempted  what  was  at  once  unreasonable,  unne- 
cessary, and  impracticable ;  and  forged  fetters 
for  the  people,  which,  if  they  did  not  crush  the 
life  of  devotion  out  of  the  church,  would  one  day 
be  burst  asunder  with  violence  and  universal 
tumult.  Had  they  drawn  up  various  forms  for 
those  whose  feeble  piety  needed  assistance,  and 
left  something  to  the  judgment,  discretion,  and 
conscience  of  those  who  had  begun  to  "  breathe 
the  pure  air  of  the  holy  Scriptures,"  the  church 
might  have  been  united,  and  New  England  re- 
mained for  some  centuries  longer  in  the  posses- 
sion of  its  original  inhabitants. 

The  first  service  book,  or  Liturgy  of  Edward 
the  Sixth,  was  gathered  from  the  popish  Breviary, 
Ritual,  and  Missal,  with  but  slight  alterations  or 
improvements.      They   did   not,   says    Burnet, 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      61 

mend  every  thing  that  required  it,  but  left  the 
office  of  the  mass  as  it  was,  only  adding  to  it 
that  Avhich  made  it  a  communion.  *  While 
many  of  the  Romish  superstitions  were  omitted, 
some  were  retained  ;  the  committee  going  "  as 
far  as  they  could  in  reforming  the  church,"  and 
hoping  "  that  they  who  should  come  after,  would, 
as  they  might,  do  more."t  They  felt,  honestly,  no 
doubt,  that  it  was  a  great  advantage  to  the  people 
to  hear  prayers  in  their  native  language,  rather 
than  in  an  unknown  tongue.  They  wished  to 
have  the  people  united ;  and  aimed  to  convert 
papists  to  the  English  Church  by  a  form  of  wor- 
ship which  should  differ  as  little  as  possible  from 
that  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed.  Those 
who  desired  a  real  reformation,  did  all  that  they 
could ;  and  those  who  were  papists  at  heart, 
were  satisfied  to  have  a  Liturgy  which  made  no 
fundamental  change.  Among  other  things,  the 
vestments  in  which  the  Romish  priests  officiated, 
w^ere  retained  against  the  judgment  of  many 
pious  persons,  who  thought  that  these  surplices, 
copes,  and  other  rags  and  symbols  of  popery, 
should  be  confined  to  the  pope's  wardrobe.  It 
was  urged  that  these  garments  belonged  to  the 
idolatry  of  the  mass,  and  had  been  used  to  set  it 

*  Hist.  Reform.  II.  64. 
t  Preface  to  the  Liturgy  of  Ed.  VI. 
VOL.    IV.  6 


62      LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEFARD. 

off  with  more  pomp  and  show,  and  ought  not, 
therefore,  to  be  used  in-  a  church  professing  to 
be  apostolical.  But  to  this  the  Reformers  re- 
plied, that  the  priest's  garments,  under  the  Mo- 
saic dispensation,  were  white,  and  this  seemed 
to  be  a  fit  emblem  of  the  purity  and  decency 
becoming  priests  under  the  Gospel.  JVforeover, 
it  was  said  that  the  clergy  were  extremely  poor, 
and  could  not  afford  to  dress  themselves  de- 
cently ;  and  as  the  people,  vibrating  from  the 
extreme  of  blind  submission  to  the  clergy,  were 
inclined  to  despise  them,  and  to  make  light  of 
their  sacred  functions,  if  they  were  to  officiate  in 
their  own  garments  they  would  bring  the  Divine 
offices  into  contempt.  These  considerations 
were  deemed  conclusive,  and  so  it  was  resolved 
that  the  use  of  the  popish  vestments  should  be 
continued,  and  made  obligatory  upon  all  offi- 
ciating clergymen.  * 

A  more  thorough  reformation  of  the  church, — 
a  reformation  which  should  leave  none  of  the 
vain  pomp,  and  foolish  pageantry  of  Romanism 
behind, — a  reformation  which  should  make  all 
the  rites,  ceremonies,  and  doctrines  of  the  church 
conformable  to  the  rules  laid  down  by  Christ 
and  his  apostles,  and  suffer  nothing  to  be  re- 


*  Bumtt,  Hi«t.  Rflform.  II.  76,  76. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      63 

quired  of  men  but  what  was  clearly  sanctioned 
by  the  authority  of  God's  word, — was  needed ; 
and  by  many,  even  by  Edward  himself,  greatly 
desired.  And  had  those  in  power  followed  the 
light  of  the  Scriptures,  which  was  then  begin- 
ning to  shine  upon  the  church,  and  purged  out 
the  old  leaven  of  popery,  and  every  thing  in 
doctrine  or  worship  which  they  themselves  ac- 
knowledged was  unscriptural,  there  would  have 
been  no  dissent  except  among  the  advocates  of 
an  antichristian  hierarchy.  But,  as  Edward, 
in  his  vain  efforts  to  realize  his  idea  of  a 
reformation,  sadly  complained,  those  bishops 
who  ought  to  carry  forward  this  work,  "  some 
for  papistry,  some  for  ignorance,  some  for  age, 
some  for  their  ill  name,  some  for  all  these,"  were 
men  "  unable  to  execute  discipline"  and  it  was 
therefore  "  a  thing  unmeet  for  them  to  do."* 

It  was  lamentably  true,  as  Mrs.  Hutchinson, 
in  her  interesting  Memoirs  of  her  husband 
finely  remarks,  "  that  when  the  dawn  of  the 
Gospel  began  to  break  upon  England,  after  the 
dark  night  of  the  papacy,  the  morning  was  more 
cloudy  there  than  in  other  places,  by  reason  of 
the  state  interest  which  was  mixing  and  working 
itself  into  the  interests  of  religion,  and  which  in 


♦  Neale,  Hist.  Purit.,  1,  53.    Burnet  Hist.  Reform.  II.  69,  427. 


64      LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPAHD. 

the  end  quite  wrought  it  out.  For  Henry  the 
Eighth,  who  by  his  royal  authority  cast  out  the 
Pope,  did  not  intend  that  the  people  of  the  land 
should  have  any  ease  of  oppression,  but  only 
change  their  foreign  yoke  for  home-bred  fetters, 
dividing  the  pope's  spoils  between  himself  and 
his  bishops,  who  cared  not  for  their  father  a 
Rome,  so  long  as  they  enjoyed  their  patrimony 
and  their  honors  at  home  under  another  head."* 

Under  the  reign  of  Mary,  the  sister  of  Ed- 
ward, the  English  Church  reverted  to  popery; 
and  Protestants,  indiscriminately,  suffered  the 
most  severe  and  unrelenting  persecution. 

On  the  accession  of  Elizabeth,  in  1558,  all 
real  Protestants  in  the  nation  entertained  strong 
hopes  that  the  work  of  reform,  which  was 
begun,  (with  whatever  motives,)  by  her  father, 
— which  was  promoted  to  the  extent  of  his 
power  by  her  brother,  Edward, — and  which 
had  been  not  only  retarded,  but  reversed  by  her 
sister  Mary  of  bloody  memory,  —  would  be 
resumed  and  speedily  completed.  But  all  hopes, 
founded  upon  the  accession  of  a  professedly 
Protestant  Queen,  were  destined  to  be  sadly  dis- 
appointed. 

The   nation  was,  at   this   time,  divided  into 


*  Memoirs  of  Col.  HutchioMn,  1,  105. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD.      65 

three  parties  of  very  unequal  size ;  the  Papists, 
the  State  protesiants,  and  a.  small  but  continually 
increasing  number  of  truly  Religious  people,  who 
were  afterwards  branded  with  the  name  of  Pu- 
ritans.* The  great  body  of  the  people  of  Eng- 
land, says  Macauly,  had  no  fixed  opinion  as  to 
the  matters  of  dispute  between  the  churches. 
"  Each  side  had  a  few  enterprizing  champions, 
and  a  few  stout-hearted  martyrs;  but  the  nation, 
undetermined  in  its  opinions  and  feelings,  re- 
signed itself  implicitly  to  the  guidance  of  the 
government,  and  lent  to  the  sovereign  for  the 
time  being,  an  equally  ready  aid  against  either  of 
the  extreme  parties.  They  were  sometimes  Pro- 
testant, sometimes  Catholic,  sometimes  half  Pro- 
testants, half  Catholics.  They  were  in  a  situation 
resembling  that  of  those  borderers,  whom  Sir 
Walter  Scott  has  described  with  so  much  spirit. 

"  Who  sought  the  beeves  that  made  their  broth,  . 

In  Scotland  and  in  England  both." 

The  religion  of  England  was  thus  a  mixed 
religion,  like  that  of  the  Samaritan  settlers  de- 
scribed in  the  Second  Book  of  Kings,  "  who 
feared  the  Lord,  and  served  their  own  gods ;" 
like    that   of    the    Judaizing    Christians,  who 


*  Memoirs  of  Col.  Hutchinson,  I,  106. 


66       LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

blended  the  doctrines  of  the  synagogue  with 
those  of  the  church ;  like  that  of  the  Mexican 
Indians,  who,  for  many  generations  after  the 
subjugation  of  their  race,  continued  to  unite  with 
the  rites  learned  from  their  conquerors,  the  wor- 
ship of  the  grotesque  idols  which  had  been 
adored  by  Montezuma  and  Gautemozin."  ^ 

All  the  English  clergy,  who  were  really  prot- 
estant  at  heart,  made  vigorous  exertions,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  to  separate 
the  church  more  entirely  from  the  influence  of 
popery ;  but  the  Queen,  who  controlled  all  the 
affairs  of  the  church,  as  well  as  of  the  state,  was 
very  differently  inclined.  Though  educated  as 
a  Protestant,  and  professing,  from  her  early 
years,  to  feel  strong  dislike  of  the  papacy,  and 
love  to  the  cause  of  truth,  she  was,  in  opin- 
ion, "  little  better  than  half  a  Protestant."  She 
loved  magnificence  in  religion  as  well  as  in 
every  thing  else,  and  to  the  last,  cherished  a 
great  fondness  for  those  rites  and  ceremonies  of 
the  Romish  church  which  her  father  had  re- 
tained. "  She  had  no  scruple  about  conforming 
to  that  church,  when  conformity  was  necessary 
to  her  own  safety;  and  she  had  professed, 
when  it  suited  her,  to  be  wholly  a  Catholic." 


*Macauljr'f  Ebmju,  1,  I78»^179. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.      67 

She  always  kept  a  crucifix,  with  wax  lights 
burning  around  it,  in  her  private  chapel.  The 
service  of  the  church  had  been  too  much  stripped 
of  ornament  and  display  to  suit  her  taste,  and  its 
doctrines  were  made  too  narrow  for  her  opin- 
ions ;  in  both,  therefore,  she  made  alterations,  to 
bring  them  into  greater  conformity  to  the  pa- 
pacy. Instead  of  carrying  the  reformation  of 
Edward  farther,  she  often  repented  that  it  had 
been  carried  so  far.  Accordingly  she  directed  the 
committee  of  divines,who  were  appointed  in  1559, 
to  review  the  Liturgy  of  Edward,  to  strike  out 
all  passages  that  could  be  offensive  to  the  pope, 
and  to  make  the  people  easy  about  the  corporeal 
presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament,  but  to  say 
not  a  word  in  favor  of  the  stricter  Protestants,  a 
respectable  body  both  of  the  clergy  and  the  laity, 
who  were  anxious  to  bring  the  reformation  to 
that  state  which  Protestants  abroad  regarded  as 
the  scriptural  model.  * 

In  the  year  1559,  the  Parliament  passed  an 
"  Act  for  the  uniformity  of  common  prayer  and 
service  of  the  church,  and  administration  of  the 
sacraments;"  by  one  clause  of  which  all  eccle- 
siastical jurisdiction  was  again  given  up  to  the 
crown;   and  the   queen  was  empowered,  with 


*Neal,  Hist.  Purit.  1,  55,  81,  91,  117. 


68      LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

the  advice  of  her  commissioners  or  metropolitan, 
to  ordain  and  publish  such  other  rites  or  cere- 
monies as  might,  in  her  opinion,  be  most  for  the 
advancement  of  God's  glory,  the  edifying  of 
his  church,  and  the  due  reverence  of  Christ's 
holy  mysteries  and  sacraments ;  without  which 
clause,  reserving  to  the  queen  power  to  make 
what  alterations  she  pleased,  she  told  Arch- 
bishop Parker  she  would  not  have  passed  the 
Act.*'  The  oppressive  use  that  was  made  of  the 
enorrnous  power  thus  conferred  upon  a  queen, 
who  declared  that  she  hated  the  Puritans  worse 
than  she  did  the  Papists,  we  see  in  the  history 
of  those  times.  Elizabeth  was  resolved  that  all 
should  conform  to  her  worship,  or  suffer  the  se- 
verest penalties  of  the  law ;  and  she  persecuted 
the  conscientious  Non-conformists  with  a  cruelty 
which  proved  that  her  profession  of  hatred  was 
sincere.  She  did  not  burn  them,  as  her  sister 
Mary  did  the  heretics  of  her  time,  but  she  sub- 
jected them  to  hardships  more  terrible  than 
death. 

i  In  the  exercise  of  her  boundless  prerogative, 
she  instituted  that  engine  of  persecution,  the 
court  of  "  High  Commission ;"  and  no  less  than 
five  courts  of  this  name  were  established  with 


•  Neal'i  Hift.  PurlU  1,  92,  93. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      69 

increasing  severity."^  The  power  of  these  tri- 
bunals was  brought  to  bear  with  terrible  effect 
upon  the  Puritans.  A  great  many  faithful  min- 
isters were  suspended  from  their  livings,  de- 
posed, fined,  imprisoned,  and  their  families  and 
interests  ruined,  for  refusing  to  conform  to  the 
established  ritual.  They  were  frequently  im- 
prisoned without  any  previous  complaint,  and 
sometimes  without  any  knowledge  of  the  charges 
upon  which  they  were  arrested;  they  were  re- 
fused bail,  and  often  suffered  a  long  and  tedious 
confinement  before  they  were  brought  to  trial. 
They  were  not  only  denied  the  privilege  of  trial 
by  jury,  but  condemned  without  being  confronted 
by  the  witnesses  against  them.  On  the  most  en- 
snaring questions,  multiplied  and  arranged  in 
the  most  artful  manner,  they  were  obliged  to 
answer  instantly  upon  oath,  with  the  rack  or  the 
prison  distinctly  in  view.  The  horrible  charac- 
ter of  these  inquisitorial  examinations  is  well 
described  by  Lord  Burleigh  in  a  letter  to  Arch- 
bishop Whitgift :  "  I  have  read  over  your 
twenty-four  articles,  formed  in  Romish  style,  of 
great  length  and  curiosity,  to  examine  all  man- 
ner of  ministers  in  this  time  without  distinction 
of  persons,  to  be  executed,  and  I  find  them  so 


*  Burnet,  Hist.  Keform.  II.  387. 


70       LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

curiously  penned,  so  full  of  branches  and  cir- 
cumstances, that  I  think  the  Inquisition  of  Spain 
used  not  so  many  questions  to  comprehend  and 
to  trap  their  priests."  * 

After  the  convocation  of  1562,  had  framed 
the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  and,  by  a  majority  of 
one,  decided  to  retain  all  the  ceremonies  which 
had  given  so  much  offence  to  every  real  Prot- 
estant, the  bishops  began  to  enforce  upon  the 
clergy  subscription  to  the  Liturgy  and  Cere- 
monies, as  well  as  to  the  Articles  of  faith. 
The  penalty  for  refusing  to  subscribe  was  ex- 
pulsion from  their  parishes.  Three  hundred 
ministers,  of  pious  and  exemplary  lives,  some  of 
them  eminent  for  their  talents  and  learning,  re- 
fused to  subscribe,  and  were  deprived  of  their 
livings.  Unwilling  to  separate  from  a  church  in 
which  the  word  and  the  sacraments  were  in 
substance  administered,  though  disfigured  and 
defiled  by  some  popish  superstitions,  some  of 
these  deprived  ministers  continued  to  preach,  as 
they  had  opportunity,  in  places  where  the  cere- 
monies could  be  safely  dispensed  with,  though 
they  were  excluded  of  course  from  all  ecclesias- 
tical preferment,  t 

Many  of  the  common  people  were  as  strongly 


*  Pierce,  Vindication  of  the  Diasentera,  100. 
t  Fuller,  Church  HieC  B.  IX.  72,  102. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARU.      71 

opposed  to  the  use  of  the  clerical  vestments,  and 
other  relics  of  popery,  as  the  ministers  ;  and  be- 
lieving it  to  be  unlawful  to  countenance  such 
superstitions  even  by  their  presence,  would  not 
enter  the  churches  where  they  were  used.  It 
now  became  a  question  of  great  interest  and 
importance,  for  those  who  were  qualified  and 
desirous  to  preach  the  gospel,  as  well  as  for 
those  who  wished  to  hear  it  in  its  purity,  what 
their  duty  was  in  this  posture  of  affairs.  In  the 
year  1572  a  solemn  consultation  was  held  by 
them  upon  this  subject;  and  after  prayer  and 
earnest  debate  respecting  the  lawfulness  and 
necessity  of  separating  from  the  established 
Church,  they  came  to  this  result :  "That,  since 
they  could  not  have  the  word  of  God  preached, 
nor  the  sacraments  administered,  without  idola- 
trous gear,  and  since  there  had  been  a  separate 
congregation  in  London,  and  another  at  Geneva, 
in  Queen  Mary's  time,  which  used  a  book  and 
order  of  preaching,  administration,  and  disci- 
pline, which  Calvin  had  approved  of,  and  which 
was  free  from  the  superstition  of  the  English 
service,  therefore  it  was  their  duty,  in  their 
present  circumstances,  to  break  off  from  the 
public  church,  and  to  assemble,  as  they  had  op- 
portunity, in  private  houses,  or  elsewhere,  to 
worship  God  in  a  manner  that  might  not  offend 


72       LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

the  light  of  their  consciences."  Another  ques- 
tion was  discussed  at  this  meeting',  namely, 
whether  they  should  use  so  much  of  the  com- 
mon prayer  and  service  of  the  church  as  was 
not  offensive  ;  or,  since  they  were  cut  off  from 
the  Church  of  England,  at  once  to  set  up  the 
purest  and  best  form  of  worship  most  con- 
sonant to  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  to  the  prac- 
tice of  the  foreign  reformers.  They  concluded 
to  do  the  latter ;  and  accordingly  laid  aside  the 
English  Liturgy  altogether,  and  adopted  the 
service  book  used  at  Geneva.  This  has  been 
called  the  epoch  of  the  Separation,  as  the  year 
1562  was  of  Non-comformity.  * 

In  the  year  1581,  the  Parliament  passed  an 
Act  imposing  a  fine  of  £20  a  month  on  every 
person  who  refused  to  attend  the  Common 
Prayer ;  and  it  was  not  long  before  there  was 
occasion  to  inflict  this  ruinous  penalty.  The 
afflicted  Puritans  appealed  to  the  Queen,  to  both 
houses  of  Parliament,  to  the  Convocation,  and 
to  the  bishops,  but  could  obtain  no  relief.  Sev- 
eral ministers  were  imprisoned  for  the  inexcusa- 
ble crime  of  asking  for  a  little  relief  from 
the  rigor  with  which  they  were  pursued  to  ruin. 
Members  of  Parliament  were  sent  to  the  Tower 


•  Ncia.  Hiat.  Parik  1. 1«4. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      73 


for  speaking  in  favor  of  the  miserable  Puritans. 
Bills,  passed  in  the  house  of  commons  for  their 
relief,  were  sent  for  by  the  Queen,  and  cancelled : 
and  the  Parliament  was  peremptorily  forbidden 
to  meddle  with  ecclesiastical  affairs. 

Wearied  out  with  this  unrelenting  persecu- 
tion which  drove  so  many  of  the  most  useful 
ministers  into  obscurity,  and  discouraged  by  the 
stern  rejection  of  all  their  petitions  for  relief,  the 
Puritans  began  to  despair  of  any  further  reforma- 
tion of  the  church  by  the  ruling  powers  ;  and  in 
one  of  their  assemblies  came  to  this  conclusion, 
"  That,  since  the  magistrate  could  not  be  induced 
to  reform  the  discipline  of  the  church  by  so  many 
petitions  and  supplications,  therefore,  after  so 
many  years  waiting,  it  was  lawful  to  act  without 
him,  and  to  introduce  a  reformation  in  the  best 
manner  they  could."  * 

That  portion  of  the  Puritan  party,  however, 
to  which  our  Fathers  belonged,  did  not  vol- 
untarily and  schismatically  separate  from  the 
church,  like  Brown  and  others,  who  renounced 
all  communion  with  the  establishment,  not  only 
in  ceremonies  and  prayers,  but  in  hearing  the 
word  and  sacraments,  and  refused  to  recognize 


♦  Neal,  1.  303. 
VOL.    IV. 


74      LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

it  as  a  true  church,  or  its  ministers  as  true  min- 
isters of  the  Gospel.  The  Non-conformists  gen- 
erally did  not  deserve  the  name  of  Brownists 
which  they  sometimes  bore,  through  the  igno- 
rance or  malice  of  their  enemies.  They  doubt- 
less agreed  with  the  Separatists  in  opposing  the 
tyranny  and  superstitions  of  the  Hierarchy,  and 
in  maintaining  their  right  to  worship  God 
according  to  the  dictates  of  their  consciences 
enlightened  by  the  Scriptures ;  but  they  did  not 
acknowledge  him  as  their  father,  nor,  in  fact, 
did  they  agree  with  him  in  principle.  The  final 
exclusion  of  both  parties  from  the  parent  church 
was  brought  about  by  the  same  cause,  namely, 
the  oppression  which  they  suffered  from  the 
bishops ;  but  sameness  of  origin  is  no  proof  of 
identity  in  doctrine.  "  No  marvel,"  says  Cot- 
ton, *'  if  we  take  it  ill  to  be  called  Brownists,  in 
whole  or  in  part ;  for  neither  in  whole  nor  in 
part  do  we  partake  of  his  schism.  He  separated 
from  churches  and  from  saints ;  we,  only  from 
the  world,  and  that  which  is  of  the  world.  We 
were  not  baptized  into  his  name,  and  why  should 
we  be  called  by  his  name  ?  The  Brownists  did 
not  beget  us  to  God,  or  to  the  church,  or  to  their 
schism, — a  schism,  which  as  we  have  lamented 
in  them,  as  a  fruit  of  misguided,  ignorant  zeal, 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      75 

SO  we  have  ever  borne  witness  against  it  since 
our  first  knowledge  of  it"  * 

The  truth  is,  that  while  the  Puritans  depre- 
cated and  dreaded  separation  from  the  church, 
and  labored  in  all  suitable  ways  to  avoid  the  ne- 
cessity of  going  out  of  it,  there  was  an  evident 
determination  on  the  part  of  the  ruling  powers 
to  get  rid  of  those,  whom,  for  fleeing  from  their 
tyranny,  they  condemned  as  separatists.  It  was 
the  opinion  of  the  stricter  reformers  generally, 
that  they  might  consistently  retain  their  con- 
nection with  the  parent  church,  which  they 
acknowledged  to  be  a  true  church ; — that  the 
restraint  of  arbitrary  human  laws  upon  their 
privileges,  and  the  imposition  by  such  laws  of 
corrupt  members,  canons,  and  ways  of  worship, 
destroyed  neither  their  rights  nor  their  Christian 
character ;  and  that  since  a  separation  was  not 
allowed  by  the  reigning  powers,  and  the  organ- 
ization of  purer  churches  within  the  kingdom 
was  impracticable,  they  ought  to  remain  in  the 
church,  groaning  under  their  burdens,  and  la- 
boring for  her  reformation.  But  the  reigning 
powers  were  very  willing  to  have  these  con- 
scientious people  excluded  from  the  fellowship 
of  a  church  which  they  loved  with  all  her  faults. 


*  Way  of  the  Congregational  Churches,  p.  10. 


76      LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

Archbishop  Sheldon  once  said  to  a  gentleman, 
who  expressed  much  regret  that  the  door  was 
made  so  strait  that  many  sober  ministers  could 
not  enter,  "  It  is  no  cause  of  regret  at  all ;  if  we 
had  thought  so  many  of  them  would  have  con- 
formed, we  would  have  made  it  still  straiten" 

The  sin  of  schism,  therefore,  which  has  been 
so  often  charged  upon  our  congregational  Fa- 
thers, does  not  lie  at  their  door.  Laud  himself, 
the  greatest  enemy  the  Puritans  ever  had,  lays 
it  down  as  a  maxim,  that  "  schism  is  theirs  whose 
the  cause  of  it  is ;  and  he  makes  the  separation 
who  gives  the  first  cause  of  it,  not  he  that  makes 
an  actual  separation  upon  a  just  cause  preced- 
ing." "  They  who  talk  so  much  of  sects  and 
divisions,"  says  Locke,  "  would  do  well  to  con- 
sider whether  those  are  not  most  authors  and 
promoters  of  sects  and  divisions,  who  impose 
creeds  and  ceremonies,  and  articles  of  men's 
making,  and  make  things  not  necessary  to  sal- 
vation the  necessary  terms  of  communion ;  ex- 
cluding and  driving  from  ihem  such  as,  out  of 
conscience  and  persuasion,  cannot  assent  and 
submit  to  them,  and  treating  them  as  if  they 
were  utter  aliens  from  the  church  of  God,  and 
such  as  were  deservedly  shut  out  as  unfit  to  be 
members  of  it ;  who  narrow  Christianity  with 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      77 

bounds  of  their  own  making,  which  the  gospel 
knows  nothing  of;  and  often  for  things,  by 
themselves  confessedly  indifferent,  thrust  men 
out  of  their  communion,  and  then  punish  them 
for  not  being  of  it."* 


*  Letters  on  Toleration. 


7* 


78      LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPAED. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Sketch  of  English  Ecclesiastical  history,  continued.  Accession  of 
James  I.  Hopes  of  the  Puritans.  Hampton  court  conference. 
No  change  in  the  Liturgy.  Conformity  enjoined  by  proclamation. 
James'  speech  to  his  first  Parliament.  Bishop  Bancroft's  meas- 
ures. Puritans  divided  into  two  classes,  Conformists,  and  Non- 
conformists. Vindication  of  non-conformists.  Story  from  Roman 
history.  John  Hampden's  refusal  to  pay  ship-money.  Grand 
result  of  persecution. 

The  harrassed  and  helpless  Puritans  had  looked 
forward  with  hope  to  the  accession  of  James  I. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of 
Scotland,  and  had  often  professed  much  sympa- 
thy with  them  in  their  afflictions.  Not  antici- 
pating the  change  that  would  be  wrought  in  his 
theological  notions  by  the  prelates'  maxim,  "  No 
bishop,  no  king,"  nor  dreaming  of  the  effect 
which  would  be  produced  upon  his  "  northern 
constitution  "  by  the  "  southern  air  of  the  bish- 
op's breath,"  they  expected  that  he  would  at 
once  relieve  them  of  these  burdens.  He  as- 
cended the  throne  of  England  in  1603;  and 
whether  he  had  always  been  a  hypocrite,  or 
whether  he  became  intoxicated  by  the  flattery 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARB.      79 

of  the  hypocritical  bishops,  certain  it  is,  that  all 
the  cheering  expectation  of  those  who  regarded 
themselves  as  his  brethren  in  the  faith  of  Christ, 
were  at  once  blasted  by  the  contemptuous  and 
oppressive  course  which  he  adopted  towards 
them.  Upon  his  arrival  in  England,  a  petition, 
signed  by  eight  or  nine  hundred  ministers  of 
the  gospel,  "his  majesty's  most  humble  sub- 
jects," praying,  not  for  a  "  disorderly  innovation, 
but  a  godly  reformation,"  in  the  ceremonies  and 
discipline  of  the  church,  was  presented  to  him. 

This  called  forth  a  bitter  attack  upon  the 
Puritans  from  the  bishops  and  the  Universities, 
and  produced  a  controversy,  which  after  a  few 
months  was  silenced  by  a  royal  Proclamation,  in 
which  the  king  declared  his  attachment  and 
adherence  to  the  established  church ;  but  gra- 
ciously encouraged  the  petitioners  to  hope  for  a 
conference  in  which  the  nature  and  extent  of 
their  grievances  would  be  examined.  This  con- 
ference, or  as  it  should  rather  be  called,  the  trial 
and  condemnation  of  the  Puritans,  was  held  at 
Hampton-Court,  on  the  fourteenth  of  January, 
1604,  and  hence  called  the  "  Hampton-Court 
Conference." 

A  very  full,  and  graphic  account  of  this  con- 
ference is  found  in  Fuller's  Church  History  of 
England.     The  king  sat  as  moderator ;   but  in 


80      LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHBPARO. 

the  discussion  he  became  the  chief  speaker  in 
defence  of  the  oppressive  proceeding  of  the 
church,  and  assailed  the  Non-conformists  with 
much  coarse,  vulgar,  and  abusive  language. 
The  church  was  represented  by  nearly  all  the 
bishops  and  deans ;  and  Dr.  Reynolds,  Dr. 
Sparks,  Mr.  Knewstubs,  and  Mr.  Chadderton, 
men  eminent  for  piety  and  learning,  and  held  in 
high  respect  by  the  people,  appeared  in  behalf 
of  the  Non-conformists.  On  the  first  day  of  the 
conference,  the  king  made  a  sort  of  gratulatory 
address  to  the  bishops  and  deans  by  themselves, 
in  which  he  expressed  his  joy  that  he  had  not, 
like  Henry  VIII.,  Edward  VI.,  and  Queen 
Elizabeth,  to  alter  all  things,  but  merely  to  con- 
firm what  he  found  well  settled ;  that  he  had 
been  brought  by  God's  good  providence,  into  the 
promised  land,  where  religion  was  purely  pro- 
fessed, and  where  he  could  sit  among  grave, 
learned,  and  reverend  men,  not  as  before,  "  else- 
where," (not  deigning  to  name  poor  Scotland,) 
a  king  without  state,  without  honor,  without 
order,  where  beardless  boys  would  sometimes 
brave  him  to  his  face ; — and  declared  his  pur- 
pose to  be  like  a  good  physician,  to  examine 
and  try  the  complaints  of  the  people,  and  fully 
to  remove  the  occasions  of  them  if  scandalous  ; 
to  cure  them  if  dangerous ;  to  take  knowledge  of 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      81 

them  if  but  frivolous ;  thereby  to  cast  a  sop  into 
the  mouth  of  cerberus,  that  he  might  bark  no 
more ;  and  if  any  thing  should  be  found  neces- 
sary to  be  redressed,  that  it  should  be  done 
*'  without  any  visible  alteration." 

On  Monday,  January  16,  the  advocates  of  the 
Non-conformists  were  admitted  to  the  conference, 
and  the  king  made  a  "  pithy  speech,"  winding 
up  with  an  address  to  these  four  opposers  of 
conformity,  whom  he  had  heard  were  the 
"  most  grave,  learned,  and  modest  of  the  ag- 
grieved sort"  professing  himself  ready  to  hear 
what  they  had  to  object,  and  commanding  them 
to  begin. 

Dr.  Reynolds.  "  All  things  disliked  or  ques- 
tioned may  be  reduced   to   these  four   heads ; 

1.  That  the  doctrine  of  the  church  might 
be  preserved  in  purity,  according  to  God's  word. 

2.  That  good  pastors  might  be  placed  in  all  the 
churches  to  preach  the  same.  3.  That  the 
church  government  might  be  sincerely  adminis- 
tered according  to  God's  word.  4.  That  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  might  be  fitted  to  more 
increase  of  piety.  For  the  first,  may  your 
majesty  be  pleased,  that  the  Articles  of  religion 
concluded  on  in  1562,  be  explained  where  ob- 
scure,  and   enlarged   where   defective."      And 


82       LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPABD. 

here  the  doctor  referred  to  Articles  16,  23,  and 
25,  as  needing  revision. 

Bishop  of  London,  (Bancroft.)  "  May  it 
please  your  majesty,  that  the  ancient  canon 
may  be  remembered,  schismatici  contra  Epis- 
copos  Tum  sunt  audiendi.  And  there  is  an- 
other decree  of  a  very  ancient  council,  that 
no  man  should  be  permitted  to  speak  against 
that  whereunto  he  hath  formerly  subscribed. 
And  as  for  you  Dr.  Reynolds,  and  your  sociates, 
how  much  are  ye  bound  to  his  majesty's  clem- 
ency, permitting  you,  contrary  to  the  statute 
Primo  Elzibethae,  so  freely  to  speak  against  the 
Liturgy  and  discipline  established.  Fain  would 
I  know  the  end  you  aim  at,  and  whether  you 
be  not  of  Mr.  Cartwright's  mind,  who  affirmed 
that  we  ought  in  ceremonies  rather  to  conform 
to  the  Turks  than  to  the  papists.  I  doubt  you 
approve  his  position,  because  here  appearing 
before  his  majesty  in  Turkey  gowns,  not  in 
your  scholastic  habits,  answering  to  the  order  of 
the  Universities." 

The  King.  "  My  lord  bishop,  something  in 
your  passion  I  may  excuse,  and  something  I 
must  mislike.  I  may  excuse  you  thus  far,  that 
I  think  you  have  just  cause  to  be  moved,  in 
respect  that  they  traduce  the  well  settled  gov- 
ernment, and  also   proceed   in   so   indecent   a 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      83 

course,  contrary  to  their  own  pretence,  and  the 
intent  of  this  meeting.  I  mislike  your  sudden 
interruption  of  Dr.  Reynolds,  whom  you  should 
have  suffered  to  have  taken  his  liberty ;  for 
there  is  no  order,  nor  can  be  any  effectual  issue 
of  disputation,  if  each  party  be  not  suffered, 
without  chopping,  to  speak  at  large."    .... 

Dr.  Reynolds.  "  The  catechism  in  the  Com- 
mon Prayer  Book  is  too  brief,  and  that  by  Mr. 
Nowell,  late  dean  of  Paul's,  too  long  for  novices 
to  learn  by  heart.  I  request  therefore,  that  one 
uniform  catechism  may  be  made,  "and  none 
other  generally  received." 

The  King.  "  I  think  the  Doctor's  request 
very  reasonable,  yet  so  that  the  catechism  may 
be  made  in  the  fewest  and  plainest  affirmative 
terms  that  may  be.  And  herein  I  would  have 
two  rules  observed.  First,  that  curious  and 
deep  questions  be  avoided  in  the  fundamental 
instruction  of  a  people.  Secondly,  that  there 
should  not  be  so  general  a  departure  from  the 
papists,  that  every  thing  should  be  accounted 
an  error  in  which  we  agree  with  them." 

Dr.  Reynolds.  "  Great  is  the  profanation  of 
the  Sabbath,  and  contempt  of  your  majesty's 
proclamation,  which  I  earnestly  desire  may  be 
reformed." 

This  motion  was  unanimously  agreed  to. 


84      LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

Dr.  Reynolds.  "  May  it  please  your  majesty 
that  the  Bible  be  new  translated ;  such  trans- 
lations as  are  extant  not  answering  the  original." 
And  he  instanced  in  three  particulars. 

Bishop  of  London.  "  If  every  man's  humour 
might  be  followed,  there  would  be  no  end  of 
translating." 

The  King.  "  I  profess  I  could  never  yet  see 
a  Bible  well  translated  in  English.  I  wish 
some  special  pains  were  taken  for  an  uniform 
translation ;  which  should  be  done  by  the  best 
learned  in  both  universities  ;  then  reviewed  by 
the  bishops ;  presented  to  the  privy  council ; 
lastly  ratified  by  royal  authority,  to  be  read  in 
the  whole  church,  and  no  other.  To  conclude 
this  point,  let  errors  in  matters  of  faith  be 
amended,  and  indifferent  things  be  interpreted, 
and  a  gloss  added  to  them.  A  church  with 
some  faults,  is  better  than  an  innovation.  And 
surely  if  these  were  the  greatest  matters  that 
grieved  you,  I  need  not  have  been  troubled  with 
such  importunate  complaints."     .... 

Dr.  Reynolds.  "  And  now  to  proceed  to  the 
second  general  point,  concerning  the  planting  of 
learned  ministers ;  I  desire  they  be  in  every 
parish." 

The  King.  "  I  have  consulted  my  bishops 
ftbout  it,  whom  I  have  found  willing  and  ready 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      85 

herein.  But  as  subita  evacuatio  is  periculoso, 
so  subita  mutatio.  It  cannot  presently  be  per- 
formed, the  Universities  not  affording  them."  .  .  . 

Bishop  of  London.  "  Because  this,  I  see,  is 
a  time  of  moving  petitions,  may  I  humbly  pre- 
sent two  or  three  to  your  majesty.  First,  that 
there  may  be  amongst  us  a  praying  ministry,  it 
being  now  come  to  pass,  that  men  think  it  the 
only  duty  of  ministers  to  spend  their  time  in  the 
pulpit.  I  confess,  in  a  church  newly  to  be 
planted,  preaching  is  most  necessary,  not  so  in 
one  long  established,  that  prayer  should  be 
neglected." 

The  King.  "  I  like  your  motion  exceeding 
well,  and  dislike  the  hypocrisy  of  our  time,  who 
place  all  their  religion  in  the  ear,  whilst  prayer, 
so  requisite  and  acceptable,  if  duly  performed, 
is  accounted  and  used  as  the  least  part  of  re- 
ligion." 

Bishop  of  London.  "My  second  motion  is, 
that  until  learned  men  may  be  planted  in  every 
congregation,  godly  homilies  may  be  read 
therein." 

The  King.  "  I  approve  your  motion,  espe- 
cially where  the  living  is  not  sufficient  for  the 
maintenance  of  a  learned  preacher.  Also  where 
there  be  multitudes  of  sermons,  there  I  would 
have  homilies  read  divers  times."     .... 

VOL.    IV.  8 


86      LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPABD. 

Lord  Chancellor.  "  Livings  rather  want 
learned  men,  than  learned  men  want  livings  ; 
many  in  the  universities  pining  for  want  of 
places.  I  wish,  therefore,  some  may  have 
single  coals  (one  living)  before  others  have 
doublets,  (pluralities)  and  this  method  I  have 
observed  in  bestowing  the  king's  benefices." 

Bishop  of  London.  "  I  commend  your  hon- 
orable care  that  way,  but  a  doublet  is  necessary 
in  cold  weather.  My  last  motion  is,  that  pul- 
pits may  not  be  made  Pasquils,  wherein  every 
discontented  fellow  may  traduce  his  superiors." 

The  King.  "  I  accept  what  you  offer,  for  the 
pulpit  is  no  place  of  personal  reproof.  Let  them 
complain  to  me,  if  injured."     .... 

Dr.  Reynolds.  "I  come  now  to  subscrip- 
tions, as  a  great  impeachment  to  a  learned 
ministry,  and  therefore  entreat  that  it  may  not 
be  exacted  as  heretofore  ;  for  which  many  good 
men  are  kept  out,  though  otherwise  willing  to 
subscribe  to  the  statutes  of  the  realm,  articles  of 
religion,  and  the  king's  supremacy."    .... 

Mr.  Knewstubs.  "  I  take  exceptions  to  the 
cross  in  baptism,  whereat  the  weak  brethren  are 
offended,  contrary  to  the  counsel  of  the  Apostle, 
Rom.  14,  and  2  Cor.  8." 

The  King.  "  Distinge  lempora,  tt  concor da- 
bunt  ScripturcB.     Great  the  difference  between 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      87 

those  times  and  ours.  Then,  a  church  not 
fully  settled  ;  now,  ours  long  established.  How 
long  will  such  brethren  be  weak  ?  Are  not 
forty-five  years  sufficient  for  them  to  grow  strong 
in  ?  Besides,  who  pretends  this  weakness  ? 
We  require  not  the  subscription  of  laics  and 
idiots,  but  of  preachers  and  ministers,  who  are 
not  still,  I  trow,  to  be  fed  with  milk,  being 
enabled  to  feed  others.  Some  of  them  are 
strong  enough,  if  not  head-strong;  conceiving 
themselves  able  enough  to  teach  him  who  last 
spake  for  them,  and  all  the  bishops  in  the  land." 

Mr.  Knewstubs.  "  It  is  questionable  whether 
the  church  hath  power  to  institute  an  outward 
significant  sign." 

Bishop  of  London.  "  The  cross  in  baptism 
is  not  used  otherwise  than  a  ceremony."  .... 

The  King.  "  I  am  exceeding  well  satisfied 
on  this  point,  but  would  be  acquainted  about  the 
antiquity  of  the  use  of  the  cross." 

Dr.  Reynolds.  "  It  hath  been  used  ever  since 
the -Apostles'  time.  But  the  question  is,  how 
ancient  the  use  thereof  hath  been  in  baptism." 

Dean  of  Westminster.  "  It  appears  out  of 
TertuUian,  Cyprian,  and  Origen,  that  it  was 
used  in  immortalis  lavacro.''' 

Bishop  of  Winchester.  "  In  Constantine's 
time  it  was  used  in  baptism." 


88      LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEFAED. 

The  King.  "  If  so,  I  see  no  reason  but  we 
may  continue  it."     .... 

Mr.  K7iewstubs.  "  If  the  church  hath  such 
a  power,  the  greatest  scruple  is,  how  far  the 
ordinance  of  the  church  bindeth,  without  im- 
peaching Christian  liberty." 

The  King.  "  I  will  not  argue  that  point  with 
you,  but  answer  as  kings  in  Parliament,  Le  Roy 
s'  avisera.  This  is  like  Mr.  John  Black,  a 
beardless  boy,  who  told  me  the  last  conference 
in  Scotland,  that  he  would  hold  conformity  with 
his  majesty  in  matters  of  doctrine,  but  every 
man  for  ceremonies  was  to  be  left  to  his  own 
liberty.  But  I  will  have  none  of  that.  I  will 
have  one  doctrine,  one  discipline,  one  religion, 
in  substance  and  ceremony.  Never  speak 
more  to  that  point,  how  far  you  are  bound  to 
obey." 

Dr.  Reynolds.  "  Would  that  the  cross,  being 
superstitiously  abused  in  popery,  were  aban- 
doned, as  the  brazen  serpent  was  stamped  to 
powder  by  Hezekiah  because  abused  to  idola- 
try." 

The  King.  "  Inasmuch  as  the  cross  was 
abused  to  superstition  in  time  of  popery,  it  doth 
plainly  imply  that  it  was  well  used  before.  I 
detest  their  courses,  who  peremptorily  disallow 
of  all  things  which  have  been  abused  in  popery, 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      89 

and  know  not  how  to  answer  the  objections  of 
the  papists  when  they  charge  us  with  novehies, 
but  by  telling  them  we  retain  the  primitive  use 
of  things,  and  only  forsake  their  novel  corrup- 
tions. Secondly,  no  resemblance  between  the 
brazen  serpent, — a  material,  visible  sign, — and 
the  sign  of  the  cross  made  in  the  air.  Thirdly, 
papists,  as  I  am  informed,  never  did  ascribe  any 
spiritual  grace  to  the  cross  in  baptism.  Lastly, 
material  crosses,  to  which  the  people  fell  down 
in  time  of  popery,  (as  the  idolatrous  Jews  to  the 
brazen  serpent)  are  already  demolished,  as  you 
desire." 

Mr.  Knewstubs.  "  I  take  exception  at  the 
wearing  of  the  surplice,  a  kind  of  garment  used 
by  the  priests  of  Isis," 

The  King.  "  I  did  not  think,  till  of  late,  it 
had  been  borrowed  from  the  heathen,  because 
commonly  called  a  rag  ofpoperij.  Seeing  now 
we  border  not  upon  heathens,  neither  are  any 
of  them  conversant  with,  or  cormorant  among 
us,  thereby  to  be  confirmed  in  paganism,  I  see 
no  reason  but  for  comeliness'  sake  it  may  be 
retained." 

Dr.  Reynolds.     "  I  desire,  that  according  to 
certain  provincial  constitutions,  the  clergy  may 
have  meetings  every  three  weeks." 
8^ 


90       LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

The  King.  "  If  you  aim  at  a  Scottish  Pres- 
bytery, it  agreeth  as  well  with  monarchy,  as 
God  and  the  devil.  Then  Jack,  and  Tom,  and 
Will,  and  Dick,  shall  meet  and  censure  me  and 
my  council.  Therefore  I  reiterate  my  former 
speech,  Le  Roy  s'avisera :  stay,  I  pray,  for  one 
seven  years,  before  you  demand,  and  then  if 
you  find  me  grow  pursy  and  fat,  I  may  per- 
chance hearken  unto  you,  for  that  government 
will  keep  me  in  breath,  and  give  me  work 
enough.  ...  I  shall  here  speak  of  one  matter 
more,  somewhat  out  of  order,  but  it  skilleth  not. 
Dr.  Reynolds,  you  have  often  spoken  for  my 
supremacy,  and  it  is  well.  But  know  you  any 
here,  or  elsewhere,  who  like  of  the  present  gov- 
ernment ecclesiastical,  and  dislike  my  supre- 
macy ?  " 

Dr.  Reynolds.     "  I  know  none." 

The  King "My   Lords,  the  bishops, 

I  may  thank  you  that  these  men  plead  thus  for 
my  supremacy.  They  think  they  cannot  make 
good  their  party  against  you  but  by  appealing 
unto  it,  but  if  once  you  were  out,  and  they  in,  I 
know  what  would  become  of  my  supremacy,  for 
NO  Bishop,  no  King.  I  have  learned  of  what 
cut  they  have  been,  who  preaching  before  me 
since  my  coming  into  England,  passed  over 
with    silence  my   being   supreme   governor  in 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEFARD.      91 

causes  ecclesiastical.  Well,  Doctor  have  you 
any  thing  else  to  say  ?  " 

Dr.  Reynolds.  "  No  more,  if  it  please  your 
majesty." 

The  King.  "  If  this  be  all  your  party  hath  to 
say,  I  will  make  them  conform  themselves,  or 
else  I  will  harry  them  out  of  the  land,  or  else  do 
worse." 

Here  ended  the  second  days'  conference.  The 
third  was  held  on  the  Wednesday  following. 
After  some  discourse  between  the  king,  the 
bishops,  and  the  lords,  respecting  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Court  of  High  Commission,  the  four 
Non-conformists  were  called  in,  and  such  altera- 
tions in  the  Liturgy,  as  the  bishops,  by  the  ad- 
vice of  the  king,  had  made,  were  read  to  them, 
and  to  which  their  silence,  was  taken  for  consent. 

The  King.  "  I  see  the  exceptions  against  the 
Communion-bopk,aremattersof  weakness,  there- 
fore if  the  persons  reluctant  be  discreet,  they 
will  be  won  betimes,  and  by  good  persuasions  : 
if  indiscreet,  better  they  were  removed,  for  by 
their  factions,  many  are  driven  to  be  papists. 
From  you.  Dr.  Reynolds,  and  your  associates,  I 
expect  obedience  and  humility,  (the  marks  of 
honest  and  good  men)  and  that  you  would  per- 
suade others  abroad  by  your  example." 

Dr.  Reynolds.     "  We  here  do  promise  to  per- 


92      LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

form  all  duties  to  bishops  as  reverend  fathers, 
and  to  join  with  them  against  the  common 
adversary,  for  the  quiet  of  the  church." 

Mr.  Chadderton.  "  I  request  that  the  vsrearing 
of  the  surplice  and  the  cross  in  baptism  may 
not  be  urged  on  some  godly  ministers  in  Lan- 
cashire, fearing,  if  forced  unto  them,  many  won 
by  their  preaching  of  the  gospel,  will  revolt  to 
popery." 

The  King.  "  It  is  not  my  purpose,  and  I  dare 
say  it  is  not  the  bishop's  intent,  presently,  and 
out  of  hand,  to  enforce  these  things,  without 
fatherly  admonitions,  conferences,  and  persua- 
sions, premised."  .  .  . 

Mr.  Knewstubs.  "  I  request  the  like  favor  of 
forbearance  to  some  honest  ministers  in  Suffolk. 
For  it  will  make  much  against  their  credit  in 
the  country,  to  be  now  forced  to  the  surplice  and 
cross  in  baptism." 

Archbishop  of  Canterbury.     "  Nay  sir." 

The  King.  "  Let  me  alone  to  answer  him. 
Sir,  you  show  yourself  an  uncharitable  man. 
We  have  here  taken  pains,  and,  in  the  end,  have 
concluded  on  unity  and  uniformity,  and  you 
forsooth,  must  prefer  the  credits  of  a  few  private 
men  before  the  peace  of  the  church.  This  is 
just  the  Scotch  argument,  when  any  thing  was 
concluded  which  disliked   some  humors.     Let 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHETARD.      93 

them  either  conform  themselves  shortly  or  they 
shall  hear."*     .     .     . 

After  a  few  words  respecting  ambuling  and 
sitting  communion,  this  famous, — if  it  should  not 
rather  be  called  infamous, — conference  ended ; 
and  with  it,  all  the  hopes  which  the  Puritans 
had  cherished  of  relief  from  the  intolerable 
bondage  in  which  they  were  held  by  the  bishops. 
Fuller  remarks,  that  in  this  conference  some 
thought  that  James  "went  above  himself ;"  that 
the  Bishop  of  London,  the  violent  Bancroft,  "  ap- 
peared even  with  himself;"  and  that  Dr.  Rey- 
nolds "fell  much  beneath  himself."  But  we 
must  remember  that  the  report  of  those  pro- 
ceedings was  originally^  made  by  a  professed 
enemy  of  the  Puritan  Divines,  who  was  as 
much  inclined  to  flatter  the  pedantic  vanity  of 
the  king,  and  to  glorify  the  bishops,  as  he  was  to 
misrepresent  the  character  and  the  arguments  of 
those  whom  he  hated.  "  When  the  Israelites  go 
down  to  the  Philistines  to  whet  all  their  iron  tools, 
no  wonder  if  they  set  a  sharp  edge  on  their  own, 
and  a  blunt  one  on  their  enemies'  weapons,"  as 
Fuller  charitably  observes.  The  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  went  so  far  as  to  declare  his  belief 
that  his  majesty  spoke  by  the  especial  assistance 
of  God's  Spirit;  and  Bancroft,  "appeared  only 


*  Fuller's  Church  History,  B.  x.  pp.  7—21. 


94       LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

even  with  himself;"  when  he  exclaimed,  "I  pro- 
test that  my  heart  melteth  with  joy,  that  Al- 
mighty God,  of  his  singular  mercy,  hath  given 
us  such  a  king,  as,  since  Christ's  time,  the  like 
hath  not  been."  But  Sir  J.  Harrington,  who  was 
present,  remarked,  in  reference  to  the  archbish- 
op's blasphemous  flattery ,^hat  the  spirit  by  which 
that  king  spoke,  was  "  rather  foul-mouthed  ;" 
that  he  used  expressions  which  it  would  not 
be  decent  to  repeat ; — and  that  he  resorted 
to  abuse  rather  than  argument,  bidding  the  pe- 
titioners, to  "  away  with  their  sniveling."  James 
himself,  in  a  letter  to  some  nameless  Scotch  cor- 
respondent, describes  the  part  he  played  in  the 
conference  in  the  following  style,  "  We  have 
kept  such  a  revell  with  the  Puritans  here  this 
two  days,  as  was  never  heard  the  like.  Quhaire 
I  have  pepered  them  as  soundlie  as  yee  have 
done  the  Papists  thaire.  It  were  no  reason, 
that  those  that  will  refuse  the  airy  sign  of  the 
cross  after  baptism,  should  have  their  purses 
stuffed   with   any   more   solid   and   substantial 

crosses I  have  such  a  book  of  theirs  as 

may  well  convert  infidels,  but  it  shall  never  con- 
vert me,  except  by  turning  me  more  earnestly 
against  thaymc." 

We  can  see  clearly  enough,  through  all  the 
clouds  of  prejudice  and  passion  in  which  that 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      95 

scene  has  been  enveloped,  that  the  demands  of 
the  Puritans  were  perfectly  reasonable,  and  pre- 
sented in  the  humblest  and  most  unobjectionable 
manner ;  while  on  the  part  of  the  king  and  the 
bishops,  there  was  not  even  the  appearance  of  a 
desire  to  heal  the  divisions  of  the  church  by 
modifying  the  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  measures 
which  produced  them ;  but  on  the  contrary,  a 
manifest  determination  to  make  the  Puritans 
conform  to  every  thing  contained  in  a  semi- 
popish  liturgy,  or  as  James  himself  once  called 
it,  "  An  ill-said  mass  in  English,"  by  the  terror 
of  fines,  imprisonment,  and  banishment  from 
their  country.  This  conference  seems  to  have 
been  a  providential  opportunity  for  healing  the 
distractions  of  the  church,  and  of  establishing  a 
true  Christian  union  upon  the  basis  of  God's 
word.  But  it  was  wickedly  lost  through  the 
worldly  policy  of  the  bishops,  and  the  arbitrary 
principles  and  cowardice  of  the  king,  who  flat- 
tered the  hierarchy  to  secure  its  support  of  the 
throne,  and  feared  the  Puritans  for  their  resist- 
ance to  his  sovereign  will.  Had  the  ruling 
powers  at  this  time  followed  the  advice  of  some 
of  the  wisest  and  most  pious  divines  in  their 
own  church,  or  the  example  of  the  Reformers 
abroad  who  took  the  Scriptures  and  not  a  cor- 
rupt  tradition,  for  their   guide  in  the  work  of 


96       LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPABD. 

reformation,  they  might  have  prevented  a  divis- 
ion as  disgraceful  as  it  was  disastrous  in  its  con- 
sequences to  them. 

But  they,  in  their  blindness,  deemed  it  best  to 
retain  every  thing  which  troubled  the  conscien- 
ces of  the  mo§t  devout  portion  of  the  church. 
The  only  good  thing  done  by  them  at  this  con- 
felrence,  was  consenting  to  a  new  translation  of 
the  Bible,  or  rather  a  careful  revision  and  com- 
parison of  all  the  translations  then  in  use.  A 
very  few  trifling  alterations  in  the  prescribed 
service  were  agreed  upon  by  the  king  and  the 
bishops  ;  and  then  a  royal  proclamation  was  is- 
sued commanding  all  the  people  to  conform  to 
the  doctrines  and  discipline  of  the  Established 
Church  as  the  only  form  to  be  tolerated  in  the 
kingdom,  and  admonishing  the  malcontents 
not  to  expect  any  farther  alteration  or  relief. 
The  Common  Prayer-book  was  accordingly 
printed  with  these  inconsiderable  amendments, 
and  the  proclamation  prefixed,  like  the  cherubim 
with  flaming  sword  guarding  the  tree  of  life. 

James  opened  his  first  Parliament  with  a 
characteristic  speech,  in  which  he  acknowledged 
the  Romish  church  to  be,  "our  Mother  Church," 
— and  professed  his  unwillingness  to  meet  the 
papists  half  way  for  the  sake  of  bringing  about 
a  union  of  the  two  religions,  at  the  same  time 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      97 

deriouncing  the  Puritans  as  a  "  sect  insufferable 
in  any  well  governed  commonwealth."  The 
Convocation  which  sat  at  the  same  time,  were 
very  active  in  laying  snares,  and  preparing 
weapons  for  the  unfortunate  sect  thus  placed 
under  the  curse  of  the  realm.  They  drew  up  a 
book  of  one  hundred  and  forty  canons,  accord- 
ing to  which,  suspension  and  deprivation  being 
regarded  as  too  light  a  punishment  for  the  enor- 
mous sin  of  non-conformity,  all  who  refused  to 
conform  were,  ipso  facto  excommunicated  and 
cast  out,  as  heathen  and  publicans,  from  the 
fellowship  and  protection  of  both  church  and 
state.  By  these  canons  all  Non-conformists  were 
rendered  incapable  of  bringing  actions  at  law 
for  the  recovery  of  their  legal  debts  ;  were  by 
process  of  the  civil  courts,  to  be  imprisoned  for 
life,  or  until  they  should  give  satisfaction  to  the 
church ;  were  to  be  exposed  to  every  form  of 
temporal  evil  in  this  world,  and  to  be  denied 
Christian  burial  after  death  ;  and  if  the  power 
of  the  bishops  had  extended  into  the  other  world, 
would  have  been  eternally  excluded  from  the  fel- 
lowship of  just  men  made  perfect.  These  canons 
were  ratified  by  the  king,  who  at  the  same  time 
commanded  that  they  should  be  diligently  ob- 
served and  executed  ;  that  every  parish  minister 
should  read  them  over  once  every  year  in  his 

VOL.    IV.  9 


98       LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

church  before  divine  service ;  and  that  all  per- 
sons having  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  should  see 
them  put  in  execution,  and  not  fail  to  inflict  the 
full  penalty  upon  every  one  who  should  pur- 
posely violate  or  neglect  them.* 

On  the  death  of  Archbishop  Whitgift,  who, 
though  an  enemy  and  a  persecutor  of  the  Puri- 
tans, was  comparatively  a  moderate  man,  Ban- 
croft, Bishop  of  London,  who  was  the  most 
irrascible  and  abusive  speaker,  next  to  the  king, 
in  the  Hampton  Court  Conference,  succeeded  to 
the  arch-episcopal  chair.  Bancroft  was  a  man 
of  a  savage  temper,  and  most  arbitrary  princi- 
ples ;  and  what  Whitgift  strove  to  accomplish 
by  comparatively  mild  measures,  he  resolved  to 
do  at  once  by  an  exterminating  rigor.  He  re- 
vived the  persecution  with  such  severity,  that  in 
1605,  the  year  of  Mr.  Shepard's  birth,  about 
three  hundred  ministers  were  silenced,  turned 
out  from  their  parishes,  or  otherwise  punished 
for  refusing  subscription ;  and  yet  of  the  suffer- 
ers in  eight  bishoprics,  no  account  was  taken. 
These  ministers  had  preached  in  the  church 
from  ten  to  thirty  years  ;  and  in  many  churches, 
the  ceremonies  had  been  laid  aside  for  a  long 
time.  Some  of  these  ministers  were  excommu- 
nicated and  imprisoned,  and  others  forced  into 

*  Bennet,  Mem.  ch.  3.    Neal  Hist.  Puriu  I,  422. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.      99 

exile, — "  harried  out  of  the  kingdom," — as  James 
insolently  threatened  they  should  be,  if  they  did 
not  conform. 

Under  the  intolerant  measures  now  adopted 
and  inflexibly  adhered  to,  many  good  men  strove 
to  conform, — and  succeeded  in  convincing  them- 
selves that  they  were  doing  God's  service,  in  con- 
forming to  the  established  order.  Hence  those 
who  most  earnestly  desired  to  see  a  thorough 
reformation  of  the  church,  were  divided  into  two 
parties,  distinguished  at  the  time,  and  well 
known  since,  as  Conformists  and  Non-conformists. 
Of  the  first  class  was  Dr.  Reynolds,  who,  at  the 
Hampton  Court  Conference,  solemnly  promised, 
"  to  perform  all  duties  to  bishops,  as  reverend 
fathers,  and  to  join  with  them  against  the  com- 
mon adversary  for  the  quiet  of  the  church." 
Dr.  Sparks,  also,  another  of  the  representatives  of 
Puritanism  in  that  unhappy  conference,  to  which 
the  petitioners  were  called,  "  not  to  have  their 
scruples  removed,"  but  to  hear  the  king's 
"  pleasure  propounded,"  went  home  a  convert 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  bishops,  and  soon  after 
published  a  Treatise  of  Unity  and  Uniformity, 
"Henceforward,"  says  Fuller,  "many  cripples 
in  conformity  were  cured  of  their  former  halting 
therein,  and  those  who  knew  not  their  own,  till 
they  knew  the   king's  mind   in   this  matter,  for 


100    LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

the  future,  quietly  digested  the  ceremonies  of 
the  church."  Of  the  latter  class  were  our  con- 
gregational fathers,  who  were  willing  to  suffer 
the  loss  of  all  things,  rather  than  conform  to  a 
ritual  of  human  origin,  imposed  with  irresistible 
human  power. 

It  has  been  often  urged  in  reproach  of  the 
Non^'Conformists,  that  while  they  cordially  con- 
sented to  the  doctrines  of  the  church,  which 
were  the  only  essential  things,  they  obstinately 
refused  to  perform  a  few  ceremonies,  which  were 
in  themselves  indifferent ;  and,  professing  to 
honor  the  church  as  their  "  dear  mother," 
blindly  fled  from  her  communion,  and  put  her 
very  existence  in  jeopardy  for  the  sake  of  getting 
rid  of  an  "  airy  cross,"  and  some  genuflexions 
which  could  do  no  one  any  harm. 

There  would  be  some  appearance  of  justice  in 
this  charge,  if  the  ceremonies  in  question  had 
been  regarded,  at  that  time  by  any  party,  as 
indifferent  things.  But  nothing  is  more  evident 
than  that  both  the  government  and  the  Puritans, 
considered  the  question  of  absolute  and  universal 
conformity  a  question  of  life  and  death.  The 
only  ground  upon  which  the  church  can  be  in 
any  degree  justified  in  its  unyielding  demands, 
13,  that  she  regarded  every  part  of  the  prescribed 
Liturgy  essential.    If  those  rites  and  ceremonies 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEl'AKD.    101 

were,  in  the  judgment  of  the  government,  really 
indifferent  matters,  it  was  most  unjust  and  cruel 
on  their  part,  to  command  every  adult  person  in 
England  to  practice  them  against  the  scruples 
of  even  a  weak  conscience,  upon  pain  of  ruinous 
fines,  imprisonment,  or  perpetual  banishment. 
It  is  said  that  Dr.  Burgess,  once  preaching  be- 
fore King  James,  and  touching  lightly  upon  the 
ceremonies,  related  the  following  story,  by  which 
he  intended  to  illustrate,  in  a  quiet  way,  the  in- 
humanity of  the  bishops  in  persecuting  the  Puri- 
tans. Augustus  Csesar  was  once  invited  to 
dinner  by  a  Roman  senator,  who  was  distin- 
guished for  his  wealth,  power,  and  magnificent 
living.  As  the  Emperor  entered  the  house,  he 
heard  a  great  outcry  ;  and  upon  looking  about, 
he  saw  several  persons  dragging  a  man  after 
them  with  the  design,  apparently  of  killing  him, 
while  the  poor  fellow  was  begging  most  piteous- 
ly  for  mercy.  The  Emperor  demanded  the 
cause  of  that  violence,  and  was  told  that  their 
master  had  condemned  this  man  to  the  fish- 
ponds for  breaking  a  very  valuable  glass. 
He  commanded  a  stay  of  the  execution ;  and 
when  he  came  into  the  house,  asked  the  senator 
whether  he  had  glasses  that  were  worth  a  man's 
life  ?  He  answered,  being  a  great  connoisseur 
in  such  things,  that  he  owned  glasses  which  he 
9* 


102    LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEFARD. 

valued  at  the  price  of  a  province.  The  Emperor 
desired  to  see  these  marvelous  glasses,  and  was 
taken  to  a  room  where  a  large  number  were 
displayed.  He  saw  that  they  were  indeed  beau- 
tiful to  the  eye,  but  knowing  that  they  had 
been,  and  might  still  be,  the  cause  of  much 
mischief,  he  dashed  them  all  to  atoms,  with  this 
expression,  "  Better  that  all  these  perish  than 
one  man."  The  bishops,  however,  for  whose 
especial  benefit  this  story  was  told,  were  greatly 
enraged,  instead  of  being  convinced  by  the  illus- 
tration. They  thought  the  ceremonies  worth  the 
lives  of  a  thousand  men ;  and  they  succeeded 
in  getting  the  doctor  silenced  for  daring  to  think 
otherwise. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  non-conforming  Puri- 
tans, if  they  could  have  regarded  these  things  as 
indifferent  in  themselves,  could  no  longer  regard 
them  as  indifferent  when  they  were  imposed  by 
the  State,  under  severe  penalties,  as  essential  to 
the  acceptable  worship  of  God.  They  did  not 
object  to  the  use  of  forms  of  prayer  ;  there  were 
many  things  in  the  Common  Prayer-book  which 
they  could  use  with  a  good  conscience ;  and  if 
any  latitude  had  been  allowed,  they  would  never 
have  separated  from  the  church.  But  they  saw 
the  mischief  of  human  authority  in  relation  to 
religious  worship ;  and  could  not  acknowledge 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    103 

that  the  magistrate  had  power  to  impose  a  body 
of  mere  ceremonies,  upon  those  whom  Christ 
had  freed  from  the  bondage  of  the  ceremonial 
law.  "  We  reject,"  says  one  of  those  Non-con- 
formists, "  those  forms  of  prayer  and  of  public 
worship  which  are  imposed  upon  the  consciences 
of  men  by  human  power,  as  essential  parts  of 
divine  service.  Although  as  to  the  matter  of 
them  they  might  be  lawfully  observed,  yet  by 
the  manner  in  which  they  are  introduced,  they 
become  the  instruments  of  cruelly,  and  occas- 
ions of  outrageous  tyranny  over  the  best  and 
most  worthy  sons  of  the  church.'"^ 

And  when  we  remember  that  this  book  con- 
tained the  only  form  of  worship  allowed  in  En- 
gland,— that  every  part  of  it,  without  exception, 
was  made  a  matter  of  necessity  and  not  of 
choice, — that  not  only  the  ministers  were  re- 
quired to  use  the  whole  of  it,  but  that  every 
adult  person  in  the  kingdom  was  obliged  to  be 
present  at  the  celebration  of  this  service,  and  to 
take  an  active  part  in  the  worship  by  repeating 
a  certain  form  of  words,  and  performing  certain 
rites  and  ceremonies, — the  refusal  of  our  fathers 
to  conform  seems  not  only  defensible,  but  imper- 
atively demanded  by  their  higher  relation  to 
Christ.     For,    as    Shepard   well   observes,   the 


*  G.  Apol.  ch.  7.  Q.  2. 


104   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

vety  yielding  of  conformity  to  such  a  service 
would  "  miserably  cast  away  the  liberty  pur- 
chased by  Christ  for  his  people, — enthral  the 
churches  to  Anti-christ, — and  lift  up  the  power 
of  Anti-christ  in  his  tyrannous  usurpation  upon 
the  churches  of  Christ !  "* 

When  Hampden,  a  few  years  later,  resisted 
the  illegal  requirement  of  Charles  I.,  with  re- 
spect to  ship-money,  and  for  a  few  shillings  was 
willing  to  plunge  the  nation  into  a  civil  war,  he 
was  hailed  as  a  noble  champion  of  civil  liberty. 
Why  then  should  our  fathers  be  branded  as 
narrow-minded  bigots,  and  wicked  disturbers  of 
the  peace  of  the  church,  for  refusing  obedience 
to  demands  which  no  human  governor  has  a 
right  to  make,  and  asserting  a  liberty  guaranteed 
by  the   great   charter  of  the  kingdom   of  God  ? 

But  the  Puritans  did  not  consider  the  Common 
Prayer-book,  in  all  its  parts,  a  matter  oi  indif- 
ference in  itself  and  to  be  resisted  only  because 
it  was  imposed  by  the  secular  power  without 
warrant  from  the  Scriptures.  While  they  freely 
acknowledged  that  God  might  be  acceptably 
worshiped  by  forms  of  prayer,  they  regarded 
this  particular  book  as  unsuitable  for  public  wor- 
ship, and  as  a  grievous  burden  upon  their  con- 


♦  Treatise  of  Liturgies,  Preface. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.     105 

sciences.  The  grounds  of  their  objection  to  the 
use  of  this  liturgy,  were,  that  it  was  taken  from 
the  Roman  Mass-book,  which  had  been  the 
means,  in  their  opinion,  of  filling  the  church 
with  idolatry  and  superstition ;  and  though 
purged  from  some  of  the  greater  abominations 
of  the  mass,  could  not  be  used  without  sanction- 
ing the  idolatrous  worship  of  Rome  ; — that  it 
claimed  for  human  rulers  unlimited  power  to 
decree  rites  and  ceremonies  for  the  church, — a 
power  which  obviously  belongs  to  Christ  alone 
as  the  Lord  and  lawgiver  of  the  church ; — that 
it  set  apart  many  holidays,  and  instituted  feasts 
which  were  enforced  in  the  spiritual  courts  by 
civil  penalties  ; — that  it  annexed  human  ceremo- 
nies to  certain  parts  of  worship  which  savored 
strongly  of  idolatry,  and  therefore  not  to  be  toler- 
ated in  the  church, — as  the  surplice, — the  sign  of 
the  cross  in  baptism, — kneeling  before  the  bread 
and  wine  in  the  Lord's  supper,  &c.  Kneeling 
at  the  sacrament  was  especially  offensive  to 
them,  because  it  was  a  gesture  required  by  the 
papists  as  an  act  of  adoration,  the  object  of  which 
was  the  real  body  of  Christ,  supposed  to  be  pres- 
ent in  the  bread  and  wine.  "  The  Mass,"  says 
John  Drury,  "  is  the  greatest  idol  in  the  world, 
and  the  act  of  kneeling  was  brought  in  at  the 
popish   communion  to  worship   that  idol.     We 


106    LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SlIEPAKD. 

ought  not  to  symbolize  with  them  in  that  act  of 
worship ;  we  ought  not  to  follow  the  corruption 
of  an  ordinance  when  we  have  Christ's  practice 
made  known  to  us.  It  is  not  lawful  to  mix  the 
acts  of  God's  true  worship  with  the  chief  act  of 
an  idol  worship,  such  as  is  kneeling  at  the  mass. 
For  the  meaning  and  purpose  of  kneeling  is 
adoration  ;  the  object  of  adoration  is  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ,  supposed  to  be  in  the 
elements.  But  if  we  believe  no  such  real  pres- 
ence as  they  have  fancied,  then  we  make  void 
the  object  of  adoration,  and  consequently  the  act 
intended  towards  it  is  disannulled  also."* 

We  see  then  that  conformity  was  not  a  ques- 
tion of  mere  expediency,  but  of  right  and  wrong, 
of  obedience  and  sin.  "  We  are  not,"  said  our 
Fathers,  "  to  dissemble  with  God  nor  men.  Our 
separation  were  needless  and  sinful,  if  we  did 
not  consider  conformity  sinful  in  some  degree. 
And  in  that  case  to  practice  it,  is  to  tell  the  world, 
if  sincerity  be  left  among  men,  that  we  account 
it  all  lawful  or  tolerable  to  us,  though  not  simply 
eligible.  We  therefore  dare  not  by  practice,  vio- 
late our  consciences,  and  so  destroy  our  avowed 
principles.  Nor  will  persons  of  any  candor  and 
christian  charily,  think  this  a  humor  of  opposi- 


•  Model  of  Church  Oovt,  pp.  40,  41.  I64a 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.     107 


tion  ;  for  they  knew  that  among  us,  have  been, 
and  are,  men  of  sober  minds,  and  tried  integrity  ; 
men  of  good  sense  and  learning;  men  of  great 
ability  and  usefulness  in  church  and  state  ;  men 
who  relished  also  the  comforts  of  their  life  and 
families  as  others  do ;  men  who  greatly  valued, 
an  opportunity  of  serving  their  generation,  and 
their  dear  Redeemer  in  the  gospel  ministry-*  men 
who  would  not  for  trifles  expose  themselves  to 
poverty,  contempt,  obscuritj'',  prisons,  merciless 
fines,  exile,  and  death  itself.  This  were  an 
humor  indeed."* 

It  is  sad  to  contemplate  the  intolerant  and  op- 
pressive measures  adopted  by  one  part  of  the 
church  against  another,  and  to  witness  the  ca- 
lamitous effects  which  resulted  from  the  perse- 
cuting spirit  of  those  times, — the  fines,  imprison- 
ments, banishments,  deaths, — by  which  the  faith 
and  patience  of  the  saints  were  so  severely  tried ; 
but  at  the  same  time  it  is  instructive  and  con- 
soling to  direct  our  thoughts  to  what  time  has 
shown  to  have  been  the  ultimate  design  of  Prov- 
idence, in  permitting  those  disastrous  scenes  to 
exist.  A  new  world  was  to  be  created.  A  pure 
church  was  to  be  planted  far  away  from  the 
enormous  corruptions  and  abuses  of  old  Christ- 


*  Letter  of  Non-Conforming  Ministers,  p.  7,  170L 


108   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

endom ;  and  persecution  was  to  people  the  wil- 
derness with  a  chosen  generation, — a  royal 
priesthood, — who  should  worship  God  in  the 
spirit,  and  magnify  the  divine  law  by  holy  obedi- 
ence. 

The  authors  of  the  Epistle  dedicatory  to 
Shepard's  Clear  Sun-shine  of  the  Gospel  upon 
the  Indians  of  New  England,  have  given  a 
beautiful  expression  to  this  thought.  "  That 
God  who  often  makes  men's  evil  of  sin,  service- 
able to  the  advancement  of  the  riches  of  his 
grace,  has  shown  that  he  had  merciful  ends  in 
the  malicious  purpose,  which  drove  our  fathers 
from  England.  As  he  suffered  Paul  to  be 
cast  into  prison,  to  convert  the  jailor; — to  be 
shipwrecked  at  Melita,  to  preach  to  the  barba- 
rians ; — so  he  suffered  their  way  to  be  stopped 
up  here,  and  their  persons  to  be  banished  hence, 
that  he  might  open  a  passage  for  them  in  the 
wilderness,  and  make  them  instruments  to  draw 
souls  to  him,  who  had  been  so  long  estranged 
from  him.  ...  It  was  the  end  of  the  adversary 
to  suppress,  but  God's  to  propagate  the  Gospel : 
their's  to  smother  and  put  out  the  light,  God's 
to  communicate  and  disperse  it  to  the  uttermost 

corners   of  the  earth And  if  the 

dawn  of  the  morning  be  so  delightful,  what  will 
the  clear  day  be  ?     If  the  first  fruits  be  so  pre- 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.    109 

cious,  what  will  the  whole  harvest  be  ?  If  some 
beginnings  be  so  full  of  joy,  what  will  it  be 
when  God  shall  perform  his  whole  work,  when 
the  whole  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea,  and 
east  and  west  shall  sing  together  the  song  of  the 
Lamb."* 


*  Clear  Sun-shine,  Prsface,  p,  3,  4. 


VOL.       IV.  10 


1 10   LIFE     OP     THOMAS     SHEPABD 


CHAPTER    V. 

Mr.  Shepard  at  Mr.  Weld's.  Dr.  Wilson's  Lecture.  Nature  of  a 
Lecture-ship.  Mr.  Shepard  requested  by  the  ministers  of  Essex  to 
accept  the  Lecture.  Lecture  established  for  three  years  at  Earlea- 
Colne.  First  Sermon.  Method  of  preaching.  Effect  of  his  minis- 
try. Opposition  arises.  Lecture  transferred  to  Towcester.  Con- 
tinues to  preach  at  Earlcs.Colne.  Summoned  to  London  by  Bishop 
Laud.  Interview  with  the  bishop.  Silenced.  Character  and  death 
of  Laud.  Studies  the  subject  of  conformity  at  E^rles-Colne.  Laud 
comes  into  the  County  of  Essex.  Second  Interrlew  with  the 
bishop.    Commanded  to  leave  the  place. 

Such,  as  has  been  described  in  the  preceding 
chapters,  was  the  religious  condition  of  Eng- 
land,— and  such  the  prospects  of  pious  young 
men  who  desired  to  devote  themselves  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry, — at  the  time  when  Thom- 
as Shepard  was  waiting  at  Mr.  Weld's  in  Essex 
for  his  Master's  degree,  "  solicitous  what  would 
become  of  him,"  But  while  he  was  thus  wait- 
ing in  painful  suspense,  the  Lord  was  in  secret 
preparing  a  place  and  a  work  for  him ;  so  that 
when  he  was  ready  and  prepared  to  enter  upon 
his  chosen  employment,  he  was  unexpectedly 
called  to  preach  the  gospel  under  circumstances 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.lll 

most  favorable  to  his  usefulness,  though  not  in  a 
way  to  gratify  a  worldly  ambition,  or  to  awaken 
hope  of  preferment  in  the  national  establishment. 
Just  at  this  time  Dr.  Wilson,  a  pious  physician, 
a  brother,  it  is  supposed,  of  John  Wilson,  after- 
wards pastor  of  the  first  church  in  Boston,  had 
resolved  to  establish  a  Lecture  in  some  town  in 
that  county,  with  an  income  of  thirty  pounds  a 
year  for  its  maintenance ; — a  Lecture  which  Mr. 
Weld  and  several  other  ministers,  with  the  con- 
currence as  it  appears  of  Dr.  Wilson,  urged  Mr. 
Shepard  to  accept,  and  to  "  set  it  up  in  a  great 
town  in  Essex,  called  Cogshall." 

In  order  to  understand  the  position  and  duties 
of  a  Lecturer  at  that  period,  as  distinguished 
from  the  office  and  work  of  a  clergyman,  it  may 
be  necessary  to  give  a  brief  account  of  the  na- 
ture of  the  Lectures  here  referred  to,  and  of  the 
circumstances  in  which  they  had  their  origin. 
Many  parts  of  the  country,"  says  Carlyle,  "  be- 
ing thought  by  the  more  zealous  among  the 
Puritans  insufficiently  supplied  with  able  and 
pious  preachers,  a  plan  was  devised  in  1624  for 
raising  by  subscription,  among  persons  grieved 
at  the  state  of  matters,  a  fund  for  buying  in  such 
"  lay  impropriations  "  as  might  offer  themselves, 
for  supporting  good  ministers  therewith  in  des- 
titute places,  and  for  otherwise  encouraging  the 


112   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SH£FARD. 

ministerial  work.  The  originator  of  this  scheme 
was  Dr.  Preston,  a  man  of  g^eat  celebrity  and 
influence  in  those  days.  His  scheme  was  found 
good.  The  wealthy  London  merchants,  almost 
ail  of  them  Puritans,  took  it  up,  and  by  degrees 
the  wealthier  Puritans  over  England  at  large. 
Considerable  funds  were  subscribed  for  this  ob- 
ject, and  vested  in  "  Feofees,"  who  afterwards 
made  some  noise  in  the  world  under  that  name. 
They  gradually  purchased  some  Advowsions,  or 
Impropriations,  such  as  came  to  market,  and 
hired  or  assisted  in  hiring  a  great  many  Lectur- 
ers. These  Lecturers  were  persons  not  gener- 
erally  in  full  priest's  orders,  being  scrupulous 
about  the  ceremonies,  but  in  deacon's,  or  some 
other  orders,  with  permission  to  preach,  or  "  lec- 
ture "  as  it  was  called ;  whom  accordingly  we 
find  lecturing  in  various  places,  under  various 
conditions,  in  the  subsequent  years ;  often  in 
some  market  town,  on  market-days,  on  Sunday 
afternoons  as  supplemental  to  the  regular  priest, 
when  he  might  be  idle,  or  given  to  white  and 
black  surplices  ;  or  as  "  running  lecturers,"  now 
here,  now  there  over  a  certain  dstrict.  They 
were  greatly  followed  by  the  serious  part  of  the 
community,  and  gave  proportional  offence  in 
other  quarters.  In  a  few  years  they  had  risen 
to  such  a  height,  that  Laud  took  them  seriously 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    113 

ill  hand,  and  with  patient  detail  hunted  them 
mostly  out ;  nay,  brought  the  Feofees  themselves 
and  their  whole  enterprise  into  the  Star-Cham- 
ber,  and  there,  with  emphasis  enough  and  heavy 
damages,  amid  huge  clamor  from  the  public, 
suppressed  them."* 

The  Lecturer  of  Dr.  Wilson,  which  Mr. 
Weld  and  other  Puritan  ministers  of  Essex 
were  anxious  that  Mr.  Shepard  should  accept, 
was  one  of  the  kind  here  described.  Of  so 
much  importance  did  they  deem  this  Lecture, 
and  so  much  confidence  did  they  feel  in  Mr. 
Shepard's  piety  and  ability  to  render  it  useful  to 
the  people,  that  they  set  apart  a  day  of  fasting 
and  prayer  for  the  purpose  of  seeking  divine  di- 
rection as  to  the  place  where  it  should  be  estab- 
lished. Towards  the  evening  of  that  day,  they 
began  to  consider  whether  Mr.  Shepard  should 
go  to  Cogshall  or  to  some  other  town  in  that  re- 
gion. Most  of  the  ministers  were  in  favor  of 
establishing  the  Lecture  at  Cogshall,  because  it 
was  a  town  of  considerable  importance, — had 
great  need  of  evangelical  preaching, — and  was, 
so  far  as  they  knew,  the  only  place  where  it  was 
especially  desired.  Mr.  Hooker,  however,  ob- 
jected to  this  place,  on  the  ground   that   Mr. 


*  Letters  and  Speeches  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  1.  50. 

10* 


114   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

Shepard  was  altogether  too  young  and  inexpe- 
rienced for  such  a  work  at  that  time  ;  and  more- 
over that  the  clergyman  of  Cogshall  was  a  cun- 
ning, malicious  old  man,  an  enemy  of  the  Puri- 
tans, who,  although  he  was  apparently  in  favor 
of  having  a  Lecture  established  there,  yet  would 
be  likely  to  give  a  young  and  inexperienced 
man  like  Mr.  Shepard,  a  great  deal  of  trouble  ; 
— remarking  in  his  quiet  way,  that  it  was  al- 
ways '•  dangerous  and  uncomfortable  for  little 
birds  to  build  under  the  nests  of  old  ravens  and 
kites." 

While  the  ministers  were  actually  engaged  in 
discussing  this  subject,  the  people  of  Earles- 
Colne,  a  town  in  the  same  county,  having  heard 
that  a  free  Lecture  was  to  be  established  some- 
where in  the  county  of  Essex,  and  believing 
that  it  would  be  a  great  blessing  to  that  "  poor 
town,"  sent  a  deputation  to  Tarling,  where  the 
ministers  were  assembled,  who  arrived  just  as 
the  question  was  about  to  be  decided,  with  an 
urgent  request  that  the  Lecture  might  be  estab- 
lished there  for  three  years,  that  being  the  time 
to  which  its  continuance  in  any  place  was  limit- 
ed ;  because  it  was  presumed  by  the  founders 
that  if  the  Lecture  was  to  be  the  means  of  doing 
any  good,  its  beneficial  influence  would  become 
manifest  within  three  years,  and  then  if  it  was 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    115 

taken  away  the  people  in  a  populous  town 
would  be  willing  to  maintain  it  themselves  ; — 
but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  no  good  was  accom- 
plished in  so  long  a  time,  it  would  be  a  waste  of 
the  funds  to  continue  it  in  that  place  any  longer. 
In  view  of  this  earnest,  and  as  it  seemed,  provi- 
dential application,  the  ministers  felt  somewhat 
as  Peter  did,  when  after  anxiously  meditating 
upon  the  vision  he  had  seen  upon  the  house-top, 
the  messengers  of  Cornelius  presented  them- 
selves with  a  request  which  he  interpreted  as  a 
Divine  intimation  of  his  duty.  They  at  once 
decided  that  the  Lecture  should  go  to  Earles- 
Colne ;  advising  Mr.  Shepard  to  accept  this 
providential  call,  and  if  after  preaching  there 
awhile,  he  found  the  people  favorably  disposed 
towards  him,  and  desirous  of  his  services,  to  re- 
main in  that  place  during  the  time  fixed  for  the 
continuance  of  the  Lecture  there. 

Mr.  Shepard  saw  clearly  that  it  was  his  duty 
to  comply  with  the  advice  of  his  friends.  This 
appointment  opened  to  him  a  door  of  usefulness 
earlier  and  more  effectually  than  he  had  antici- 
pated, without,  at  the  same  time,  subjecting  him 
to  many  of  those  annoyances  to  which  the  regu- 
lar ministers  were  constantly  liable  ;  and  though 
the  salary  connected  with  this  Lecture  was 
small,  it  was  sufficient  to  enable  him,  for  the 


116   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARU. 

present,  to  subsist  with  comparative  comfort.  It 
was  a  very  hopeful  undertaking.  And  it  was^ 
no  small  honor  for  one  who,  in  his  own  opinion, 
was  "  so  young,  so  weak,  inexperienced,  and 
unfit  for  so  great  a  work,"  to  be  called  into  this 
difficult  service  "by  twelve  or  sixteen  judicious 
ministers  of  Christ."  He  moreover  regarded  it 
as  a  manifestation  of  Divine  goodness,  never  to 
be  forgotten,  that  when  he  "might  have  been 
cast  away  upon  some  blind  place,  without  the 
help  of  any  ministry  "  about  him  ;  or  have  been 
"  sent  to  some  gentleman's  house,  to  be  corrupt- 
ed with  the  sins  in  it,"  the  Lord  should  place 
him  in  the  best  county  in  England,  viz.  Essex," 
and  locate  him  "  in  the  midst  of  the  best  minis- 
try in  the  country,  by  whose  monthly  fasts  and 
conferences  "  he  found  much  assistance  and  en- 
couragement in  his  arduous  work. 

Accordingly  he  resolved  to  go  to  Earles- 
Colne.  After  taking  his  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts,  in  1627,  and  receiving  deacon's  orders, 
"sinfully,"  as  he  afterwards  thought,  of  the 
Bishop  of  Peterborough,  he  repaired  to  the  scene 
of  his  future  labors.  He  was  cordially  wel- 
comed and  entertained  by  a  Mr.  Cosins,  a 
schoolmaster  in  the  town,  "  an  aged,  but  a  godly 
and  cheerful  Christian,"  the  only  person,  indeed, 
in  the   place  who  seemed  to  have  ^'  any  godli- 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.117 

ness,"  by  whose  counsel,  sympathy,  and  co- 
operation, the  spirit  of  the  young  and~  timid 
preacher  was  greatly  refreshed  and  strength- 
ened. His  first  sermon  was  upon  2  Cor.  5 :  19, 
and  was  so  acceptable  to  the  people,  that  they 
united  in  giving  him  a  formal  invitation  in 
writing  to  remain  and  lecture  to  them  agreeably 
to  the  terms  of  his  appointment.  From  this 
unanimity  and  earnestness,  so  unusual  in  those 
times,  he  inferred  that  it  was  the  Lord's  will 
that  he  should  labor  in  that  place.  Still  he 
was  fearful  that  he  should  not  be  suffered  by  the 
superior  powers  to  pursue  his  work  in  peace.  In 
order,  therefore,  to  avoid  molestation  from  that 
quarter,  he  "  sinfully,"  according  to  his  own 
subsequent  interpretation  of  the  act,  procured  a 
license  to  officiate  as  a  lecturer,  from  the  Regis- 
ter of  the  Bishop  of  London,  before  his  name 
and  character  were  much  known ;  a  license, 
which  for  a  time,  enabled  him  to  preach  without 
hindrance  or  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the 
bishop  and  his  officers. 

Mr.  Shepard  entered  upon  his  work  at  Earles- 
Colne,  with  great  zeal.  His  sole  object  in 
preaching,  .was,  according  to  the  commission 
given  to  the  apostle,  to  turn  his  hearers  "  from 
darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan 
unto  God."     In  order   to  accomplish   this  end 


1 18   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARO. 

most  effectually  and  speedily,  he  endeavored 
first  of  all,  to  "  show  the  people  their  misery ;  " 
next,  to  exhibit  "  the  remedy,  Jesus  Christ ;  " 
and  finally,  to  show  "  how  they  should  walk 
answerable  to  his  mercy,  being  redeemed  by 
Christ."  This  course  of  preaching,  accom- 
panied as  it  evidently  was,  by  a  sincere,  earn- 
est, and  prayerful  spirit  in  the  preacher, — "  the 
Lord  putting  forth  his  strength  in  my  extreme 
weakness," — soon  began  to  produce  the  most 
happy  results.  The  people  who  had  walked  in 
darkness,  and  among  whom  there  seemed  to  be 
but  one  man  who  "  had  any  godliness,"  were 
enlightened  in  respect  to  the  distinguished  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel,  and  many,  both  in  Earles- 
Colne,  and  in  the  region  around,  were  converted. 
Among  the  most  valuable  fruits  of  his  ministry 
were  the  two  sons  of  Mr.  Harlakenden,  Rich- 
ard and  Roger  ;  the  latter  of  whom  came  to 
New  England  with  his  spiritual  father,  and 
was  of  great  service  to  him  in  his  labors  here. 

Such  a  ministry  as  this,  lifting  up  its  voice 
like  a  trumpet  amidst  the  smooth  preaching  and 
dead  formalism  of  the  church,  showing  the 
people  their  transgression,  and  making  them 
feel  their  misery,  could  not,  at  that  period,  be 
long  tolerated  by  the  ruling  powers.  "  Satan 
began  to  rage."     "  The  commissaries,  registers. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPAKD.    119 

and  others,  began  to  threaten  the  faithful 
preacher,  taking  it  for  granted  that  he  was  a 
"non-conformable  man,"  whose  mouth  must  be 
stopped ;  though  at  that  time,  not  having 
studied  the  subject  of  conformity,  he  "  was 
not  resolved  either  way,  but  was  dark  in 
these  things."  But  notwithstanding  the  violent 
opposition  that  arose  on  all  sides,  "  the  Lord, 
having  work  to  do  in  the  place,"  sustained  him, 
"  a  poor  ignorant  thing,"  against  all  the  threat- 
enings  of  the  commissaries,  and  the  "  malice 
of  the  ministers  round  about,"  and  "  by  strange 
and  wonderful  means,"  kept  him  in  the  field 
until  the  work  was  done. 

When  the  three  years  for  which  the  lecture 
had  been  established  at  Earles-Colne  were  ex- 
pired, the  people,  having  learned  to  appreciate 
the  blessing  of  a  faithful  ministry,  were  unwill- 
ing to  part  with  the  instrument  of  so  much  good, 
and  at  once  raised  by  subscription  a  salary  of 
about  forty  pounds  a  year,  to  induce  him  to 
remain  with  them.  This  unexpected  movement 
satisfied  him  that  it  was  his  duty  to  continue 
his  ministrations  in  that  place ;  and,  as  the 
lecture  must  be  transferred  to  some  other  town, 
he  used  his  influence  to  have  it  established  at 
Towcester, — the  place  of  his  birth, — "the  worst 
town  in  the  world,"  in    his   opinion,  believing 


120   LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

that  he  could  confer  no  greater  beTiefit  upon 
his  "  poor  friends "  there,  than  by  sending  to 
them  a  faithful  preacher  of  the  gospel.  Dr. 
Wilson  consented  to  Mr.  Shepard's  proposal, 
and  Mr.  Stone,  afterwards  the  able  collegue  of 
Mr.  Hooker,  both  at  Cambridge  and  Hartford, 
was  sent  with  the  lecture  to  Towcester,  "  where 
the  Lord  was  with  him,"  and  many  souls  were 
converted  by  his  faithful  ministry. 

Mr.  Shepard  continued  to  preach  at  Earles- 
Colne  for  about  six  months  after  the  transfer  of 
the  lecture  to  Towcester  ;  when  the  storm, 
which  had  been  long  gathering,  burst  upon  him, 
and  drove  him  from  his  work  in  that  place. 
Laud,  having  succeeded  Bancroft  as  Archbishop 
of  London,  began  to  look  sharply  after  these  lec- 
turers, and  to  enforce  entire  conformity  to  the  es- 
tablished ceremonies  with  a  rigor  beyond  that  of 
any  of  his  predecessors.  It  was  not  likely  that 
such  a  man  as  Shepard  could  long  escape  perse- 
cution, when  a  very  worthy  minister  was  called 
before  the  Court  of  High  Commission  and  se- 
verely censured  for  merely  expressing  in  a  ser- 
mon his  belief  that  the  night  was  approaching, 
because  **  the  shadows  were  so  much  longer  than 
the  body,  and  ceremonies  more  in  force  than 
the  power  of  godliness."  Accordingly  on  the 
I6lh  of  December,    1630,    Mr.    Shepard    was 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.     121 

summoned  to  London,  like  a  culprit,  to  answer 
for  his  conduct  at  Earles-Colne.  The  bishop 
did  not  ask  him  whether  he  had  subscribed, 
or  was  willing  to  subscribe  and  conform,  but 
taking  it  for  granted  that  he  was  an  obstinate 
Non-conformist,  after  abusing  Dr.  Wilson  for 
setting  up  a  lecture,  and  the  lecturer  for  daring 
to  preach  in  his  diocese,  forbade  the  further 
exercise  of  his  ministerial  gifts  in  that  bishop- 
rick  ;  and  moreover  threatened  the  poor  man 
with  a  speedy  and  violent  interruption  if  he 
attempted  to  preach  any  where  else. 

This  interview  between  the  haughty  bishop, 
and  the  humble  preacher,  is  best  described  in 
the  language  of  the  sufferer  himself.  "  As  soon 
as  I  came  in  the  morning,  about  eight  of  the 
clock,  falling  into  a  fit  of  rage,  he  asked  me 
what  degree  I  had  taken  in  the  University.  I 
answered  him  that  I  was  Master  of  Arts.  He 
asked,  of  what  college  ?  I  answered  of  Em- 
manuel. He  asked  how  long  I  had  lived  in  his 
diocese.  I  answered,  three  years  and  upwards. 
He  asked,  who  maintained  me  all  this  while, 
charging  me  to  deal  plainly  with  him ;  adding 
withal,  that  he  had  been  more  cheated  and 
equivocated  with  by  some  of  my  malignant 
faction,  than  ever  was  man  by  Jesuit.     At  the 

VOL.    IV.  11 


122   LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

speaking  of  which  words  he  looked  as  though 
blood  would  have  gushed  out  of  his  face,  and 
did  shake  as  if  he  had  been  haunted  with  an 
ague  fit,  to  my  apprehension,  by  reason  of  his 
extreme  malice  and  secret  venom.  I  desired 
him  to  excuse  me.  He  fell  then  to  threaten  me, 
and  withal  to  bitter  railing,  calling  me  all  to 
naught ;  saying,  '  You  prating  coxcomb,  do  you 
think  all  the  learning  is  in  your  brain  ?'  He 
then  pronounced  his  sentence  thus  :  '  I  charge 
you  that  you^ieither  preach,  read,  marry,  bury, 
or  exercise  any  ministerial  function  in  any  part 
of  my  diocese  ;  for  if  you  do,  and  I  hear  of  it,  I'll 
be  upon  your  back,  and  follow  you  wherever 
you  go,  in  any  part  of  the  kingdom,  and  so 
everlastingly  disenable  you.'  I  besought  him 
not  to  deal  so  in  regard  of  a  poor  town.  And 
here  he  stopped  me  in  what  I  was  going  on  to 
say.  '  A  poor  town  !  You  have  made  a  com- 
pany of  seditious,  factious  bedlams  ;  and  what 
do  you  prate  to  me  of  a  poor  town  ? '  I  prayed 
him  to  suffer  me  to  catechize  on  the  Sabbath 
days  in  the  afternoon.  He  replied,  '  Spare 
your  breath,  I'll  have  no  such  fellows  prate  in 
my  diocese.  Get  you  gone  ;  and  now  make 
your  complaint  to  whom  you  will.'  So  away  I 
went;  and  blessed  be  God  that  I  may  go  tg 
Him." 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    123 

Nothing  can  exceed  the  shameful  violence 
and  brutality  of  the  bishop,  but  the  meekness 
and  humility  of  the  defenceless  victim.  "  The 
Lord  saw  me  unfit  and  unworthy  to  be  con- 
tinued there  any  longer, — "  this  is  his  own  self- 
condemning  language  respecting  the  oppressive 
treatment  which  he  had  received  from  a  nar- 
row-minded, and  unfeeling  man, — "  and  so 
God  put  me  to  silence  there,  which  did  some- 
what humble  me  ;  for  I  did  think  it  was  for  my 
sins  the  Lord  set  him  thus  against  me." 

The  character  of  Laud,  who  holds  a  promi- 
nent place  in  the  history  of  those  times  when 
good  men  were  treated  worse  than  felons  for  re- 
fusing to  conform  to  human  ceremonies  in  the 
worship  of  God,  has  been  very  differently  drawn 
by  the  friends  and  the  enemies  of  the  Puritans. 
In  the  flattering  portrait  by  Clarendon,  he  ap- 
pears as  an  angel  of  light,  and  with  the  beauty 
of  a  holy  martyr  ;  in  the  rough  sketch  of  Prynne 
whose  colors  were  mixed  up  with  his  own  blood, 
he  is  represented  as  one  of  the  most  hateful  in- 
carnations of  the  spirit  of  evil.  We  must  make 
allowance  for  the  sweeping  expressions  of  men 
whom  the  bishop  had  caused  to  be  set  in  the 
pillory,  cropped,  branded  with  hot  irons,  impris- 
oned, fined  and  banished,  for  the  sake  of  what 
they  verily  believed  to  be   the   cause   of  truth. 


m 


LITE     OF     THOMAS     8HBPARD. 


But  after  making  all  necessary  allowance  it 
seems  impossible  to  regard  him  with  any  feeling 
but  that  of  detestation.  When  we  read  Shep- 
ard's  description  of  the  manner  in  which  he  si- 
lenced one  of  the  most  pious,  humble,  and  prom- 
ising young  men  in  the  church  of  England  at 
that  time, — a  description  which  probably  would 
have  answered  for  many  similar  scenes, — we 
cannot  wonder  that  Winthrop  should  call  him, 
"  our  great  enemy,"  or  that  Shepard,  forbidden, 
like  the  apostles  by  the  Jewish  rulers,  to  "  speak 
at  all,  or  to  teach  in  the  name  of  Jesus,"  should 
represent  him  as  "  a  man  fitted  of  God  to  be  a 
scourge  to  his  people."  Laud  was  born  in  1573, 
at  Reading,  in  Berkshire,  and  educated  at  St. 
John's  college,  Oxford,  of  which  he  subsequent- 
ly became  the  President,  and  the  munificent 
patron.  He  was  made  bishop  of  St.  David's,  in 
Wales,  in  1621, — afterwards  bishop  of  London, 
— and  finally,  upon  the  death  of  Abbot,  in  1633, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  There  was,  indeed, 
as  Fuller  says,  '*  neither  order,  office,  degree, 
nor  dignity  in  college,  church,  nor  university, 
but  he  passed  through  it,"  and  in  every  station 
he  exhibited  the  same  overweening  partiality 
for  the  ceremonies  of  the  church,  and  the  same 
bitter  hostility  towards  the  Puritans  who  would 
not  bow  down  to  his  idol.     If  he  was  not,  as 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    125 

Shepard  calls  him,  "  a  fierce  enemy  of  all  right- 
eousness," he  was  certainly  the  avowed  enemy 
of  the  most  righteous  persons  in  the  church,  and 
a  cruel  persecutor  of  every  one  who  showed  by 
his  life  that  he  preferred  the  power  of  godliness 
to  a  vain  ceremony.  He  had  a  zeal  for  the  ex- 
ternals of  religion  which  consumed  the  spirit  of 
piety ;  and  an  ambition  to  increase  the  political 
power  of  the  church,  which  did  not  hesitate  to 
trample  upon  the  most  sacred  rights  of  man.  He 
was  evidently  a  man  of  a  narrow  intellect  and  a 
bad  heart.  He  was  envious,  passionate,  vindic- 
tive, cruel,  and  implacable.  In  the  Star-Chamber 
he  always  advocated  the  severest  measures,  and 
*'  infused  more  vinegar  than  oil  into  all  cen- 
sures," against  the  victims  of  church  authority. 
"  For  this  individual,"  says  an  eminent  writer, 
"  we  entertain  a  more  unmitigated  contempt 
than  for  any  other  character  in  our  history. 
His  mind  had  not  expansion  enough  to  compre- 
hend a  great  scheme,  good  or  bad.  His  oppres- 
sive acts  were  not,  like  those  of  the  Earl  of 
Strafford,  parts  of  an  extensive  system.  They 
were  the  luxuries  in  which  a  mean  and  irritable 
disposition  indulges  itself  from  day  to  day, — 
the  excesses  natural  to  a  little  mind  in  a  great 
place.  While  he  abjured  the  innocent  badges 
of  popery,  he  retained  all  its  worst  vices, — a 
11* 


126   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEFASD. 

complete  subjection  of  reason  to  authority,  a 
weak  preference  of  form  to  substance,  a  childish 
passion  for  mummeries,  an  idolatrous  veneration 
for  the  priestly  character,  and,  above  all,  a  stupid 
and  a  ferocious  intolerance.*  It  is  only  neces- 
sary to  add  that  after  inflicting  upon  the  defence- 
less Puritans  all  the  evil  in  his  power,  he  died 
a  violent  death,  being  beheaded,  upon  a  charge 
of  high  treason,  on  the  10th  of  January,  1646, 
in  the  seventy-second  year  of  his  age.  He  as- 
cended the  scaffold,  "with  a  cheerful  counte- 
nance, imputed  by  his  friends  to  the  clearedness, 
by  his  foes  to  the  searedness  of  his  conscience. 
The  beholders  that  day  were  so  divided  between 
bemoaners  and  insulters,  that  it  was  hard  to  de- 
cide which  of  them  made  up  the  major  part  of 
the  company. "t 

Having  been  thus  unexpectedly  silenced,  and 
forbidden  to  preach  or  to  perform  any  ministerial 
act  within  the  realm  of  England,  with  no  means 
of  subsistence,  with  no  employment,  with  m> 
hope  of  being  able  to  promote  the  cause  which 
he  had  most  at  heart,  with  the  withering  sen- 
tence of  the  bishop  upon  him,  Mr.  Shepard 
seemed  to  be  really  in  an  evil  case.  But 
though  persecuted,  he  was  not  forsaken  ;  though 

*  VlMctaXtj'u  Eonya,  1 ;  10,  84. 
tFuUer,  Charch  Hiatorr,  Book  II,  p.  Sl«. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    127 

cast  down,  he  was  not  destroyed.  The  Harla- 
kendens,  some  of  whom  had  been  the  subjects  of 
renewing  grace  under  his  preaching,  showed 
their  affection  and  gratitude  by  affording  him  an 
asylum  in  their  hospitable  mansion,  and  were 
"  so  many  fathers  and  mothers"  to  him.  The 
people  of  Earles-Colne,  also,  mindful  of  the  good 
which  had  been  done  among  them  by  his  faith- 
ful labors,  were  desirous  that  he  should  remain 
in  the  place ;  and  were  ready  to  contribute  to 
his  comfort,  though  he  could  be  of  no  service  to 
them  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  Here  he  re- 
mained about  six  months ;  and  as  he  was  shut 
out  from  all  active  employment,  he  improved  his 
enforced  leisure  in  looking  more  carefully  into 
the  order  of  worship  to  which  he  was  required 
to  conform, — a  subject  respecting  which  he  had 
until  now  been  undecided.  The  more  he 
studied,  the  more  clearly  he  saw  "  the  evil  of 
the  English  ceremonies,  cross,  surplice,  and 
kneeling,"  and  the  less  disposed  to  adhere  to  a 
church  that  made  conformity  to  such  things  in- 
dispensable condition  of  its  fellowship,  and  used 
its  power  so  tyrannically  against  all  who  had 
conscientious  scruples  about  them. 

Mr.  Shepard's  course  in  relation  to  this  matter 
was  not  at  all  singular.  Many  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished Puritans  of  that  time,  and  of  a  some- 


128   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEFABD. 

what  later  period,  were  for  awhile  undecided 
respecting  their  duty  as  to  the  ceremonies, — 
were  willing  to  conform  to  many  things  which 
they  could  not  altogether  approve, — were  greatly 
distressed  at  the  idea  of  separating  from  their 
mother  church,  which,  with  all  her  faults,  still 
retained,  substantially,  the  true  Christian  doc- 
trine. This  was  Philip  Henry's  state  of  mind. 
He  was  disposed  to  remain  in  the  church,  and 
to  conform  as  far  as  possible  ;  but  the  treatment 
he  received,  convinced  him  that  the  assumption 
of  human  authority  in  matters  of  religion,  was 
a  great  evil,  and  made  him  practically,  though 
not  nominally,  an  Independent.  *  In  his  Diary 
for  Feb.  16,  1673,  the  following  passage  occurs  : 
*'  Mr.  Leigh  at  Chapel.  Discourse  at  noon  not 
altogether  suitable  to  the  Sabbath,  concerning 
ceremonies ;  but  something  said  in  public  led  to 
it,  viz.,  that  the  magistrate  hath  power  in  im- 
posing gestures  and  vestures."\  So  Baxter,  one 
of  the  most  candid  and  conscientious  of  men, 
was  driven  farther  and  farther  from  the  English 
church,  by  the  doctrine,  so  cruelly  reduced  to 
practice,  that  the  State  has  the  right  to  fix  the 
mode  in  which  men  shall  worship  God,  and  by 
the  impudent  plea  of  "  men's  good  and  the  order 


*  Leturt  on  the  Puriums,  hj  3.  B.  WiUiams. 
t  Life  of  PhUip  Henry,  pp.  123, 186,  446,  800,  825. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    129 

of  the  church,"  in  justification  of  acts  of  inhu- 
manity and  uncharitableness.*  John  Corbet, 
the  author  of  Self-employment 'in  Secret,"  who 
was  turned  out  of  his  living  at  Bramshot,  in 
Hampshire,  was  another  whom  violent  and  com- 
pulsory treatment  compelled  to  study  the  subject 
of  conformity  with  great  care  and  impartiality. 
Many  parts  of  conformity,  says  Baxter,  he  cT)uld 
have  yielded  to,  but  not  aZZ,  and  nothing  less 
than  all  would  satisfy  the  bishops,  t 

While  Mr.  Shepard  was  thus  engaged  in  ex- 
amining this  subject,  which  had  become  one  of 
vital  importance,  and  forming  his  views  of  duty 
in  relation  to  the  ceremonies,  his  old  enemy, 
Bishop  Laud,  coming  into  the  country  upon  a 
visitation,  and  learning  that  he  was  still  at 
Earles-Colne,  cited  him  to  appear  before  the 
court  at  Peldon ;  "  where  I  appearing,  he  asked 
me  what  I  did  in  the  place.  I  told  him  I  studied. 
He  asked  me  what  ?  I  told  him  the  Fathers. 
He  replied  I  might  thank  him  for  that ;  yet  he 
charged  me  to  depart  the  place.  I  asked  him 
whither  should  I  go  ?  To  the  University,  said 
he.  I  told  him  I  had  no  means  to  subsist  there. 
Yet  he  charged  me  to  depart  the  place."  It 
was  at  this  visitation  that  Mr.  Weld,  who  had 


♦  Baxter's  Remains,  131,  fol.  1696. 
t  Sermon  at  the  Funeral  of  J.  Corbet. 


130   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARO. 

been  suspended  from  his  ministry  about  a  month 
before,  was  formally  excommunicated,  and  thus, 
to  use  the  bishop's  expression,  "  everlastingly 
disenabled."  Mr.  Rogers,  of  Dedham,  was  at 
the  same  time  required  to  subscribe ;  and  as  he 
could  not  conscientiously  do  this,  he  was,  like  a 
multitude  of  other  pious  and  faithful  ministers, 
suspended  and  silenced. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEFARD.    131 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Mr.  Shepard  obliged  to  leave  Earles-Colne.  Bishop's  visitation  at 
Dunmore.  Mr.  Shepard  and  Mr.  Weld  talk  of  going  to  Ireland. 
Scene  at  Dunmore.  Mr.  Weld  arrested.  Mr.  Shepard  flees  from 
the  place.  Invited  to  act  as  chaplain  in  the  family  of  Sir  Richard 
Darley.  Journey  into  Yorltshire.  State  of  Sir  Richard's  family. 
First  sermon  at  Buttercrambe.  Marriage  of  Mr.  Alured.  Effect 
of  his  sermon  upon  this  occasioiL  Marries  Margarelt  Touteville. 
Removes  to  Heddon.  Effect  of  his  preaching  at  Heddon.  Si- 
lenced by  bishop  Neile.  First  child  born.  Motives  to  emigrate  to 
New  England.  Resolves  to  leave  England.  Engages  passage  in 
the  Hope.     Ship  detained.    Plan  to  arrest  Shepard  and  Norton. 

It  was  now  evident  that  Mr.  Shepard's  work  at 
Earles-Colne,  where  he  had  first  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  burden  and  the  glory  of  the 
cross,  was  finished  ;  and  that  he  must  prepare  for 
a  speedy  departure  if  he  would  escape  the  effects 
of  the  bishop's  indignation.  But  whither  should 
he  go  ?  There  was  no  means  of  subsistence  for 
him  at  the  University.  He  could  no  longer 
preach  in  the  diocese  of  London ;  and  he  had 
been  threatened  with  persecution  if  he  attempted 
to  preach  any  where  else  in  England.  But  he 
was  under  the  guidance  of  a  Providence  in 
whose  wisdom   he   could  implicitly  trust ;  and 


132   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHfiPABD. 

during  this  trying  scene  his  mind  seems  to  have 
been  kept  in  perfect  peace  with  respect  to  the 
question  where  he  should  go,  and  what  he 
should  do.  The  situation  of  chaplain  in  a  gen- 
tleman's family,  in  Yorkshire,  had  been  offered 
to  him ;  but  he  was  unwilling  to  leave  his  pres- 
ent post  until  actually  forced  away  by  circum- 
stances which  he  could  not  control.  These 
circumstances  had  now  occurred  ;  and  he  was 
watching  for  the  indications  of  the  Divine  will 
in  relation  to  his  future  course. 

A  few  days  after  he  had  been  peremptorily 
commanded,  by  an  authority  which  he  could  not 
resist,  to  leave  Earles-Colne,  the  bishop  was  to 
hold  a  visitation  in  Dunmore,  in  Essex ;  and  Mr. 
Weld,  Mr.  Daniel  Rogers,  Mr.  Ward,  Mr.  Mar- 
shall, and  Mr.  Wharton,  all  standing  in  jeopardy 
every  hour,  "  consulted  together  whether  it  was 
best  to  let  such  a  swine  root  up  God's  plants  in 
Essex,  and  not  give  him  some  check."  In  what 
way  they  expected  to  give  "  a  check"  to  such  a 
man  as  Laud  does  not  appear ;  but  it  was  agreed 
upon  privately  at  Braintree,  that  they  would 
speak  to  the  bishop,  and,  if  possible,  to  arrest 
this  work  of  devastation. 

Mr.  Shepard  and  Mr.  Weld,  traveling  to- 
gether to  the  place  where  the  bishop  was  to  hold 
bis  visitation,  discussed  the  expediency  of  emi- 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.     133 

grating  to  New  England.  But,  upon  the  whole, 
they  concluded  that  it  would  be  better  to  go  by 
the  way  of  Scotland  into  Ireland,  and  endeavor 
to  find  there  a  place  where  they  might  safely 
and  profitably  exercise  their  ministry.  When 
they  came  to  the  church  where  the  bishop  was 
to  preach,  Mr.  Weld,  who  had  been  already  ex-  _ 
communicated,  stopped  at  the  door,  not  being 
permitted  to  stand  within  consecrated  walls; 
but  Mr.  Shepard,  upon  whom  the  anathema  had 
not  yet  been  pronounced,  went  boldly  in.  Ser- 
mon being  ended,  Mr.  Weld  drew  near  to  hear 
the  bishop's  speech,  supposing  that  as  Divine 
service  was  over,  even  an  excommunicated  per- 
son might  listen  to  an  ordinary  address.  He 
was,  however,  mistaken.  The  bishop  saw  him, 
and  turning  upon  him  with  his  accustomed  vio- 
lence, demanded  why  he  was  "  on  this  side  New 
England,"  and  how  he,  who  by  excommunica- 
tion, had  become  a  heathen  and  a  publican, 
dared  to  stand  upon  holy  ground.  Mr.  Weld 
meekly  pleaded  in  excuse  that  if  he  had  sinned 
it  was  through  ignorance,  and  begged  to  be  for- 
given. The  bishop,  however,  was  not  in  a  for- 
giving mood,  and  Mr.  Weld  was  committed  to 
the  pursuivant,  and  bound  over  in  the  sum  of 
one  hundred  marks,  to  answer  before  the  Court 
of  High  Commission,  for  the  crime  of  desecrating 

VOL.    IV.  12 


134   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPAKD. 

a  church  by  his  presence,  as  "  an  example"  and 
a  warning  to  all  such  persons  in  future.* 

While  this  shameful  scene  was  being  enacted, 
Mr.  Shepard  coming  into  the  crowd,  heard  the 
bishop  inquiring  about  him,  and  found  that  the 
pursuivant,  having  arrested  Mr.  Weld,  was 
anxious  to  get  hold  of  his  companion,  as  the 
worst  of  the  two.  Several  persons  who  were 
friendly  to  Mr.  Shepard,  hearing  his  name  pro- 
nounced, and  seeing  that  the  bishop  had  resolved 
to  make  "an  example  "  of  him  also,  urged  him 
to  retire  without  delay ;  but  as  he  hesitated  and 
lingered  upon  this  dangerous  ground,  not  know- 
ing what  to  do,  a  Mr.  Holbeech,  a  pious  school- 
master of  Felsted,  in  Essex,  seeing  his  danger, 
seized  him,  and  drew  him  forcibly  out  of  the 
church.  This  was  no  sooner  done,  than  the 
apparitor  called  for  Mr.  Shepard,  and  as  he  was 
nowhere  to  be  seen,  the  pursuivant  was  sent  in 
haste  to  find  and  arrest  him.  But  Mr.  Hol- 
beech, who  seems  to  have  had  more  energy  and 
presence  of  mind  upon  this  occasion  than  his 
friend,  "  hastened  our  horses,  and  away  we  rid 
as  fast  as  possible ;  and  so  the  Lord  delivered  me 
out  of  the  hand  of  that  lion  a  third  time." 

Mr.   Shepard  was  now  a  fugitive,  not  from 


•  CbroaiclM  of  Mara.  522,  Nou. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.     135 

justice,  but  from  the  savage  officers  of  that 
most  iniquitous  Star-Chamber,  in  which,  if  no 
fault  whatever  could  be  proved,  it  was  ruin 
to  a  man's  person  and  purse  to  be  tried.  He 
had,  as  has  been  said,  received  an  invitation  to 
act  as  chaplain  to  a  gentleman's  family  in  York- 
shire, which  he  had  declined  to  accept  until  the 
bishop  had  actually  driven  him  away  from 
Earles-Colne,  Soon  after  his  flight  from  Dun- 
more,  he  received  a  letter  from  Ezekiel  Eogers, 
then  living  at  Rowley,  in  Yorkshire,  renewing 
this  invitation,  and  urging  him  to  come  into  that 
county,  where  he  would  be  "  far  from  the  hear- 
ing of  the  malicious  Bishop  Laud,"  who  had 
threatened  him  if  he  preached  any  where  in  his 
diocese.  The  family  referred  to  was  that  of  Sir 
Richard  Darley,  of  Buttercrambe,  in  the  north 
riding  of  Yorkshire.  As  a  compensation  for  his 
services,  the  knight  offered  to  board  and  lodge 
him,  and  the  two  sons  of  Sir  Richard,  Henry  and 
Richard  Darley,  promised,  for  their  part,  a  sal- 
ary of  twenty  pounds  a  year.  The  letters,  moreo- 
ver, which  he  received  from  Yorkshire,  presented 
an  inducement  of  a  higher  nature,  for  they  came 
"  crying  with  that  voice  of  the  man  of  Macedo- 
nia, '  come  and  help  us.'  "  Under  these  circum- 
stances, Mr  Shepard  could  not  be  doubtful  as  to 
the  path  of  duty,  and  he  resolved  to  "  follow  the 


136    LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

Lord  to  so  remote  and  strange  a  place."  When 
he  was  ready  to  depart,  Sir  Richard  consider- 
ately sent  a  man  to  be  his  guide  in  a  journey, 
which  at  that  time,  was  not  only  tedious,  but 
somewhat  hazardous;  and  with  "much  grief  of 
heart,"  he  "  forsook  Essex  and  Earles-Colne, 
going,  as  it  were,  he  knew  not  whither;  and 
the  affectionate  people,  who  had  for  a  season  re- 
joiced in  his  light,  "  sorrowing  most  of  all  for 
the  words  which  he  spake,  that  they  should  see 
his  face  no  more." 

In  this  journey  he  had  occasion  to  remember 
the  Saviour's  words,  "  Pray  that  your  flight  be 
not  in  winter."  They  traveled  on  horseback, 
and  were  five  or  six  days  upon  the  road.  The 
weather  was  cold  and  stormy.  The  rivers  in 
Yorkshire  were  much  swollen  by  the  rains,  and 
hardly  passable.  The  ways  were  rough,  and 
on  several  occasions  the  travelers  were  in  great 
danger.  At  last  they  came  to  a  town  called 
Ferrybridge,  on  the  river  Aire,  "  where  the  wa- 
ters were  up,  and  ran  over  the  bridge  for  half  a 
mile  together."  Here  they  hired  a  guide  to 
conduct  them  over  the  bridge.  "  But  when  he 
had  gone  a  little  way,  the  violence  of  the  water 
was  such,  that  he  first  fell  in,  and  after  him 
another  man,  who  was  near  drowning  before  my 
eyes.  Whereupon  my  heart  was  so  staitten 
with  fear  of  the  danger,  and  my  head  so  dizzied 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    137 

with  the  running  of  the  water,  that  had  not  the 
Lord  immediately  upheld  me,  and  my  horse 
also,  and  so  guided  it,  I  had  certainly  perished." 
They  had  proceeded  but  a  short  distance  upon 
the  bridge,  when  Mr.  Shepard  fell  into  the 
river,  but  was  able  to  keep  his  seat  upon  his 
horse,  which,  being  a  very  good  one,  with  great 
effort  soon  regained  his  footing  upon  the  bridge. 
Mr,  Darley's  man,  also,  in  his  efforts  to  save 
Mr.  Shepard,  fell  in  and  was  near  drowning, 
but  at  last  extricated  himself  from  his  perilous 
situation.  After  much  difficulty  they  reached  a 
house  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  where 
they  changed  their  clothes,  and  "  went  to 
prayer,"  blessing  God  for  "  this  wonderful  pre- 
servation." He  looked  now  upon  his  life  as  a 
new  existence  granted  to  him, — which  he  "saw 
good  reason  to  give  up  unto  God  and  his  service. 
And  truly,  the  Lord,  that  had  dealt  only  gently 
with  me  before,  now  began  to  afflict  me,  and  to 
let  me  see  how  good  it  was  to  be  under  his 
tutoring." 

It  was  late  on  Saturday  evening  when  they 
reached  York.  Stopping  only  for  some  slight 
refreshment,  they  went  on  to  Buttercrambe,  the 
seat  of  Sir  Richard,  about  seven  miles  farther, 
where  at  a  late  hour,  very  wet,  cold,  and  weary, 
they  at  last  arrived.  The  reception  which  Mr. 
12* 


138   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

Shepard  met  at  the  house  of  Sir  Richard  Bar- 
ley, was  in  one  respect  all  that  he  could  have 
anticipated ;  for  all  his  wants  were  promptly 
attended  to,  and  he  was  lodged  in  the  "  best 
room  in  the  house."  But  the  religious  condition 
of  the  family,  and  the  manner  in  which  he 
found  some  of  its  members  employed  near  Sab- 
bath morning  when  he  arrived,  must  have  been 
more  chilling  to  his  heart  than  the  cold  rain 
had  been  to  his  frail  body.  To  his  utter  aston- 
ishment and  dismay,  he  "  found  divers  of  them 
at  dice  and  tables,"  and  learned  with  unspeaka- 
ble sorrow  that  although  he  was  expected  to 
preach  on  the  morrow,  no  preparation  had  been 
made  to  receive  him  "as  becometh  saints."  He 
was  hurried  to  his  lodgings,  and  on  the  next 
day,  worn  out  with  the  fatigue  of  a  perilous 
journey,  sad  at  heart,  and  almost  dead  with 
despondency,  he  preached  his  first  sermon  in 
that  place ;  with  what  effect  is  not  known,  but 
can  easily  be  conjectured.  It  is  not  strange 
that  while  he  was  comfortably  provided  for  in 
external  respects,  he  should  feel  that  he  had 
fallen  upon  evil  days,  and  that  he  was  "  never  so 
sunk  in  spirit  as  about  this  time."  For  he  was 
now  far  from  all  his  friends.  He  was  in  a  "  pro- 
fane house,"  where  there  seemed  to  be  no  fear 
of  God.     He  was  in  a  "  vile  wicked  town  and 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARB.    139 

country."  He  was  "unknown  and  exposed  to 
all  wrong-s."  He  felt  "insufficient  to  do  any 
work :  "  and,  to  render  his  situation  as  comfort- 
less as  possible,  "  the  lady  was  churlish."  Yet 
even  here  he  was  not  altogether  forsaken  and 
desolate.  The  lady  might  treat  him  contempt- 
uously, "  but  Sir  Richard  was  ingenious  ;  " 
and  he  found  in  the  house  three  friendly  ser- 
vants,— Thomas  Fugill,  who  was  one  of  the 
principal  settlers  of  New  Haven  in  1638, — Ruth 
Bushell,  afterwards  married  to  Edward  Mitchen- 
son,  both  of  whom  came  to  New  England  and 
were  members  of  the  church  in  Cambridge, — 
and  Margarett  Touteville,  a  relative  of  Sir 
Richard, — by  whose  kind  attentions  the  unex- 
pected trials  to  which  he  was  exposed,  were  in 
some  measure  alleviated. . 

Soon  after  Mr.  Shepard  became  a  resident  in 
this  family,  the  daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Darley 
was  married  to  "  one  Mr.  Alured,  a  most  pro- 
fane young  gentleman,"  upon  which  occasion, 
according  to  custom,  a  sermon  was  required  from 
the  chaplain.  This  was  the  commencement  of 
what  may  be  called  a  revival  in  that  "  profane 
house."  Under  the  discourse,  "  the  Lord  first 
touched  the  heart  of  Mistress  Margarett  with 
very  great  terrors  for  sin  and  her  Christless 
estate."      Immediately   other  members   of  the 


140   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPAKD. 

family,  among  whom  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alured, 
began  to  inquire  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved. 
These  convictions  resulted  in  hopeful  conver- 
sion ;  and  the  whole  family,  if  not  savingly  re- 
newed, were  at  least  thoroughly  reformed,  and 
brought  to  the  regular  performance  of  external 
duties.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  limit  of 
Mr.  Shepard's  success  in  that  place.  For 
although  Mather  says  that  God  quickly  made 
him  instrumental  of  a  blessed  change  in  the 
neighborhood,  as  well  as  in  the  family, — the 
profanest  persons  thereabouts  being  touched  with 
the  efficacy  of  his  ministry,  and  prayer  with 
fasting  succeeding  to  their  former  wildness, — 
yet  Mr.  Shepard  himself,  who  best  knew  the 
results  of  his  preaching,  declares  that  while 
most  of  the  members  of  Sir  Richard's  family 
were  converted,  or  at  least  greatly  changed,  he 
knew  of  "  none  in  the  town  or  about  it  who  were 
brought  home." 

While  Mr.  Shepard  was  thus  faithfully  labor- 
ing to  enrich  this  family  with  the  blessings  of 
the  gospel,  the  Lord  was  preparing  for  him  one 
of  the  greatest  of  earthly  blessings, — a  pious  and 
devoted  wife.  For  three  years,  while  he  resid- 
ed at  Earles-Colne,  he  had  made  it  a  subject  of 
earnest  prayer  that  the  Lord  would  carry  him  to 
a  place  "  where  he  might  find  a  meet  yoke-fel- 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD.    141 

low."  His  prayer  was  now  answered.  He 
found  in  Margarett  Touteville, — then  about 
twenty-seven  years  of  age, — a  woman  every 
way  suited  to  aid  him  in  his  arduous  work. 
She  was  "  a  most  humble  wo)nan," — a  "  very 
discerning  Christian," — "  amiable  and  holy," — 
"  endued  with  a  very  sweet  spirit  of  prayer," — 
and  upon  the  whole,  "  the  best  and  the  fittest 
person  in  the  world  "  for  such  a  man  as  Shepard. 
Sir  Richard,  with  his  whole  family  favored  the 
connection,  not  only  giving  their  cordial  con- 
sent to  his  union  with  their  kins-woman,  but 
generously  increasing  her  marriage  portion ;  and 
in  1632,  after  a  residence  of  about  a  year  in  the 
family,  he  was  happily  married  to  one,  who,  in 
his  "  exiled  condition  in  a  strange  place,"  and  in 
his  hardships  and  dangers,  was  ever  to  him  an 
"incomparably  loving  "  and  faithful  wife. 

Mr.  Shepard  now  found  it  expedient  to  re- 
move from  Buttercrambe.  His  wife  was  unwil- 
ling to  remain  in  Sir  Richard's  family  after  her 
marriage  ;  and  besides,  it  soon  became  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  continue  his  labors  in  that  place, 
for  bishop  Neile,  a  rigid  cereraonialist,  coming 
to  York  and  hearing  of  him,  peremptorily  for- 
bade his  preaching  there  any  longer  unless  he 
would  subscribe,  which,  with  his  conscience  now 
becoming   fully  enlightened,  he  could  not  do. 


142   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPABD. 

At  this  crisis  he  received  an  invitation  to  preach 
at  Heddon,  a  town  in  Northumberland,  about 
five  miles  from  Newcastle  upon  the  Tyne.  It 
was  a  poor  place,  and  afforded  but  little  prospect 
of  a  comfortable  subsistence.  But  it  was  the 
only  field  of  labor  open  to  him  at  that  time  ;  and 
as  the  people  were  anxious  to  obtain  his  services, 
— especially  as  there  he  would  be  far  from  the 
residence  of  any  bishop,  a  matter  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  a  preacher  who  could  not  sub- 
scribe,— he  resolved  to  go.  Accordingly,  ac- 
companied by  Mr.  Alured,  he  went  to  Heddon, 
not  without  painful  apprehensions  of  danger 
from  the  efforts  of  his  enemies,  and  his  "  poor 
wife  full  of  fears."  But  all  his  fears  were  not 
realized.  He  experienced,  as  he  expected,  some 
hardship  and  inconvenience ;  but  he  found  some 
kind  Christian  friends,  among  the  most  valuable 
of  whom  were  Mrs.  Fenwick,  who  gave  him  the 
use  of  a  house,  and  Mrs.  Sherbourne,  who  con- 
tributed largely  to  his  maintenance.  His  labors 
in  Heddon,  and  in  the  adjoining  towns,  were 
abundant,  and  accompanied  by  the  Divine  bless- 
ing. Many  of  his  hearers  were  converted  ;  and 
those  who  already  loved  the  truth,  were  greatly 
strengthened  by  his  vigorous  piety,  and  enlight- 
ening ministry.  He  found  time  also  to  study 
more  thoroughly  the  subject  of  church  govern- 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPAED.    143 

ment  and  order,  and  to  form  his  opinions  more 
fully  in  relation  to  the  ceremonies,  and  the  "  un- 
lawful standing  of  bishops."  He  thus  became 
more  and  more  sensible  of  the  great  errors  of 
the  Established  Church,  and  better  fitted  for  the 
work  of  building  up  the  tabernacle  of  God  in 
the  wilderness,  to  which  he  was  soon  to  be 
called. 

After  preaching  at  Heddon  for  about  a  year, 
he  removed,  for  what  reason  is  not  known,  to  a 
neighboring  town.  But  he  was  soon  forced  to 
leave  that  place  by  a  clergyman  who  came  with 
authority  to  forbid  his  preaching  publicly  any 
longer.  In  this  new  and  unexpected  trouble, 
application  was  made  by  his  friends  to  Morton, 
Bishop  of  Durham,  for  liberty  to  continue  his 
'ministry  among  them;  but  the  bishop, although 
he  seems  to  have  been  disposed  to  grant  this  re- 
quest, acknowledged  that  he  dared  not  give  his 
sanction  to  the  preaching  of  a  man  whom  Laud 
had  undertaken  to  silence.  Mr.  Shepard  there- 
fore went  from  place  to  place,  and  preached 
wherever  he  could  do  so  without  danger,  until 
at  last  he  was  obliged  to  confine  himself  to  pri- 
vate exposition  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Fenwick. 
During  this  dismal  and  trying  season,  his  first 
child,  whom  he  named  Thomas,  was  born, — the 
mother  having  been  in  great  peril  for  four  days 


144   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

through  the  unskillfulness  of  her  physician. 
To  have  been  deprived  of  such  a  wife  in  that 
"  dark  country,"  and  when  he  was  struggling 
with  innumerable  difficulties  and  dangers,  would 
have  broken  his  spirit,  and  the  Lord  mercifully 
spared  him  this  affliction.  But  the  shadow  of 
such  an  evil  falling  upon  him  amidst  all  his  oth- 
er trials,  humbled  him  in  the  dust, — reminded 
him  of  all  his  delinquencies,  and  broken  resolu- 
tions,— drew  him  nearer  to  God,  and  excited 
him  to  greater  diligence  and  faithfulness  in  his 
great  work. 

Mr.  Shepard  had  now  been  "  tossed  from 
the  south  to  the  north  of  England,"  and  could 
neither  go  farther  in  that  direction,  nor  preach 
the  gospel  publicly  where  he  was.  He  there- 
fore began  to  consider  the  case  of  conscience* 
frequently  put  by  the  martyrs  in  the  bloody 
days  of  Queen  Mary  ;  whether  it  was  not  his 
duty  to  abandon  his  country  altogether,  and 
seek  in  a  new  world  not  only  a  refuge  for 
himself,  but  a  place  where  he  might  labor  se- 
curely, and  with  hope,  for  the  advancement  of 
the  Saviour's  kingdom.  The  thoughts  of  many 
pious  persons  in  England  had  for  some  time 
been  turned  towards  this  country,  where,  it  was 
believed,  the  Lord  was  about  to  plant  the  gospel, 
and  to  establish  a  pure  church.     Cotton,  Hooker, 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.     145 

Stone,  and  Weld,  the  intimate  friends  of  Mr. 
Shepard,  together  with  many  of  their  people, 
had  already  fled  to  New  England ;  and  many 
others  were  preparing  to  follow  them  into  the 
wilderness  where  they  could  worship  God  ac- 
cording to  his  word.  Under  these  circumstan- 
ces, Mr.  Shepard  "  began  to  listen  to  a  call  to 
New  England." 

For  taking  this  decisive  step  he  saw  many 
weighty  reasons.  He  had  no  call  to  any  place 
in  England  where  he  could  preach  the  gospel, 
nor  any  means  of  subsistence  for  himself  and 
family.  He  saw  many  pious  people  leaving 
their  country,  and  going  forth,  like  Abraham, 
they  knew  not  whither,  at  the  call  of  God  and 
conscience.  He  was  urged  by  those  who  had 
already  gone,  and  by  many  who  wished  to  go  to 
New  England,  to  abandon  a  country  where  he 
could  no  longer  be  useful  as  a  minister  of 
Christ,  and  aid  them  in  their  holy  enterprise  by 
his  wisdom  and  piety.  He  "  saw  the  Lord  de- 
parting from  England  when  Mr.  Hooker  and 
Mr.  Cotton  were  gone,"  and  anticipated  nothing 
but  misery  if  he  were  left  behind.  He  was  con- 
vinced of  the  evil  of  the  ceremonies,  and  of  the 
inexpediency  if  not  the  sin  of  mixed  communion 
in  the  sacraments  of  the  church  as  then  adminis- 
tered, while   at   the  same  time   he  deemed   it 

VOL.    IV.  13 


146   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEFARD. 

*'  lawful  to  join  with  them  in  preaching."  He 
felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  enjoy,  if  possible,  the 
benefit  of  all  God's  ordinances,  and  to  seek  them 
in  a  foreign  land,  if  they  could  not  be  found  at 
home.  He  was  exposed  to  fine,  imprisonment, 
and  all  manner  of  persecution,  and  he  saw  no 
Divine  command  to  remain  and  suflfer,  when  the 
Lord  had  providentially  opened  a  way  of  escape. 
He  regarded,  however,  not  so  much  his  own 
personal  quiet  and  safety,  as  "  the  glory  of  those 
liberties  in  New  England,"  which  the  people  of 
God  seemed  about  to  enjoy,  and  the  influence 
which  he  might  exert  in  securing  and  defending 
them.  It  was  urged  by  some  who  did  not  wish 
to  emigrate,  that  he  might  remain  in  the  north 
of  England  and  preach  privately ;  but  he  was 
convinced  that  this  would  expose  him  to  danger, 
and  he  was  not  satisfied  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
hazard  his  personal  liberty  and  the  comfort  and 
safety  of  his  family,  for  what  was  by  all  classes 
deemed  a  disorderly  manner  of  preaching,  when 
he  might  exercise  his  talent  publicly  and  honor- 
ably in  New  England.  Finally,  he  considered 
how  sad  a  thing  it  would  be,  if  he  should  die,  to 
leave  his  wife  and  child  in  "  that  rude  place  of 
the  north,  where  there  was  nothing  but  barba- 
rous wickedness,"  and  "  how  sweet  it  would  be 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    147 

to  leave  them  among  God's  people,"  however 
poor. 

These  considerations  appeared  to  him  of  suf- 
ficient weight  to  justify  his  speedy  departure, 
"  before  the  pursuivants  came  out "  to  render  his 
escape  impracticable.  And  afterwards,  when 
the  removal  of  the  New  England  Puritans  was 
spoken  of  by  some  of  their  brethren  at  home  as 
a  treacherous  and  cowardly  flight  from  the  duty 
of  suffering,  the  same  reasons  substantially  were 
assigned  by  him  in  his  answer  to  Ball,  as  a 
complete  vindication  of  their  conduct.  "  Was 
it  not,"  he  says,  "  a  time  when  human  worship 
and  inventions  were  grown  to  such  an  intolera- 
ble height,  that  the  consciences  of  God's  people, 
enlightened  in  the  truth,  could  no  longer  bear 
them  ?  Was  not  the  power  of  the  tyrannical 
prelates  so  great  that  like  a  strong  current  it 
carried  every  thing  down  stream  before  it  ?  Did 
not  the  hearts  of  men  generally  fail  them  ? 
Where  was  the  people  to  be  found  that  would 
cleave  to  their  godly  ministers  in  their  suffer- 
ings, but  rather  thought  it  their  discretion  to 
provide  for  their  own  quiet  and  safety  ?  What 
would  men  have  us  do  in  such  a  case  ?  Must 
we  study  some  distinctions  to  salve  our  con- 
sciences in  complying  with  so  manifold  corrup- 
tions in  God's  worship,  or  should  we  live  with- 


148    LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPABD. 

out  God's  ordinances  because  we  could  not 
partake  in  the  corrupt  administration  of  them  ? 
It  is  true  we  might  have  suffered ;  we  might 
easily  have  found  the  way  to  have  filled  the 
prisons ;  and  some  had  their  share  in  these  suf- 
ferings. But  whether  we  were  called  to  this, 
when  a  wide  door  of  liberty  was  set  open,  and 
our  witnesses  to  the  truth,  through  the  malig- 
nant policy  of  those  times,  could  not  testify 
openly  before  the  world,  but  were  smothered  up 
in  close  prisons,  we  leave  to  be  considered.  We 
cannot  see  but  the  rule  of  Christ  to  his  apostles, 
and  the  practice  of  God's  saints  in  all  ages,  may 
allow  us  this  liberty  as  well  as  others,  to  fly  into 
the  wilderness  from  the  face  of  the  dragon.  The 
infinite  and  only  wise  God  hath  many  works  to 
do  in  the  world ;  and  by  his  singular  providence, 
he  gives  gifts  to  his  servants,  and  disposes  them 
to  his  work  as  seems  unto  him  best.  If  the 
Lord  will  have  some  to  bear  witness  by  impris- 
onment, mutilation,  &c.,  he  gives  them  spirits 
suitable  to  this  work,  and  we  honor  them  in  it. 
If  he  will  have  others  instrumental  to  promote 
reformation  in  England,  we  honor  them,  and  re- 
joice in  their  holy  endeavor,  and  pray  for  a 
blessing  upon  them  and  their  labors.  And  what 
if  God  will  have  his  church  built  up-also  in 
these  remote  parts  of  the  world,  that  his  name 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPAED.    149 

may  be  known  to  the  heathen,  or  whatsoever 
other  end  he  has,  and  for  this  purpose  will  send 
forth  a  company  of  weak-hearted  Christians, 
who  dare  not  stay  at  home  to  suffer,  why  should 
we  not  let  the  Lord  alone,  and  rejoice  that  Christ 
is  preached  howsoever  and  wheresoever."*" 

Having  fully  resolved  to  leave  England  at  the 
first  favorable  opportunity,  Mr.  Shepard  took 
leave  of  his  friends  in  the  north,  where  he  had 
labored  for  about  a  year ;  and  in  the  beginning 
of  June,  1634,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  child, 
and  maid-servant,  he  left  Newcastle,  secretly 
for  fear  of  the  pursuivants,  on  board  a  coal  ves- 
sel bound  to  Ipswich,  the  principal  town  in  Suf- 
folk. He  remained  a  short  time  in  Ipswich, 
first  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Russell,  and  then  with 
his  friend  Mr.  Collins,  both  of  whom  were  after- 
wards prominent  members  of  the  church  in 
Cambridge.  From  Ipswich  he  made  a  journey 
to  Earles-Colne,  where  he  lived  very  privately 
in  the  family  of  Mr.  Harlakenden,  from  whom 
he  received  every  attention  which  his  forlorn 
situation  required.  Here,  he  passed  the  Sum- 
mer of  1634.  This  period,  in  which  he  was 
"  so  tossed  up  and  down,"  having  no -permanent 
place  of  residence,  and  being  obliged  to  keep 


*  Treatise  of  Liturgies,  Pref.  pp.  4,  5,  6, 

13* 


150   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPAED. 

himself  concealed  from  the  notice  of  ^e  bishops, 
he  found  "  the  most  uncomfortable  and  fruitless, 
to  his  own  soul  especially,"  that  he  ever  experi- 
enced. He  therefore  longed  to  be  in  New  Eng- 
land as  soon  as  possible :  and  as  a  number  of 
friends,  among  whom  was  John  Norton,  were 
preparing  to  emigrate  at  the  close  of  that  sum- 
mer, he  determined  to  accompany  them.  The 
ship  in  which  they  expected  to  sail,  was  the 
Hope,  of  Ipswich,  and  the  time  fixed  for  their 
departure,  was  the  early  part  of  September. 
Although  the  season  was  so  far  advanced  that 
they  must  arrive  on  the  bleak  coast  of  New  Eng- 
land towards  the  beginning  of  winter,  yet  as 
dangers  thickened  around  them, — as  the  master, 
Mr.  Gurling,  was  an  able  seaman  and  very 
friendly  to  the  emigrants, — as  the  ship  was  a 
large  and  good  one, — and  as  they  were  assured 
by  the  captain  that  he  would  certainly  sail  at  the 
time  appointed, — they  were  willing  to  encoun- 
ter the  perils  of  the  voyage  at  that  season. 

All  necessary  arrangements  having  been 
made,  Mr.  Shepard  repaired  with  his  family  to 
Ipswich  for  the  purpose  of  embarking.  The 
ship,  however,  was  not  ready  to  sail,  and  they 
were  detained  six  or  eight  weeks  beyond  the 
time  agreed  upon.  The  company  were  now  in 
great  perplexity  and  distress.     The  winter  was 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      S  HEP  ARC.     151 

rapidly  approaching,  and  the  voyage  becoming 
every  day  more  dangerous.  They  were  sur- 
rounded by  enemies,  and  constantly  liable  to  be 
discovered  and  arrested  by  the  savage  pursui- 
vants. Some  of  them  feared  that  this  detention 
might  be  a  divine  chastisement  sent  upon  them 
for  "  rushing  onward  too  soon."  Mr.  Shepard 
was  for  awhile  in  great  heaviness  of  soul,  and 
had  many  fears  and  doubts  in  relation  to  this 
enterprise.  He  had  gone  too  far  to  relinquish 
the  voyage,  and  the  only  alternative  was  to  pro- 
ceed ;  but  from  that  time  he  resolved  "  never  to 
go  about  a  sad  business  in  the  dark,  unless 
God's  call  within  as  weJl  as  without "  was 
"  very  strong,  and  clear,  and  comfortable." 

While  the  company  were  thus  anxiously  and 
impatiently  waiting  for  the  ship  to  sail,  Mr. 
Shepard  and  Mr.  Norton  were  kindly  concealed 
and  provided  for  in  the  house  of  a  worthy  man, 
who  exerted  himself  nobly,  and  at  some  hazard 
to  himself,  in  their  behalf.  Many  of  the  pious 
people  in  the  town  resorted  privately  to  these  men 
of  God  for  instruction.  At  the  same  time  their 
enemies  were  eagerly  watching  for  them,  and 
using  all  possible  means  to  entrap  and  appre- 
hend them.  These  hunters  of  souls,  failing  in 
all  their  efforts  to  draw  their  prey  into  the  open 
field,  and  being  restrained  by  law  from  breaking 


152   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEFAaD. 

into  the  asylum  to  which  they  had  fled,  at  last 
persuaded  a  young  man,  who  lived  in  the  house 
where  Mr.  Shepard  lodged,  by  a  large  sum  of 
money ,  to  promise  that  at  a  certain  hour  of  a 
night  agreed  upon,  he  would  open  the  door  for 
their  peaceable  entrance  into  this  sanctuary.  The 
youth,  who  was  frequently  in  the  presence  of 
Mr.  Shepard,  and  heard  the  words  of  grace  and 
the  fervent  prayers  which  he  uttered,  became 
deeply  impressed  with  the  thought  that  this  was 
a  holy  man  of  God ;  and  that  to  betray  him  into 
the  hands  of  his  enemies  would  be  a  heinous 
crime.  He  began  to  repent  of  his  bargain.  As 
the  night  in  which  he  was  to  execute  his  wicked 
purpose  drew  near,  he  became  greatly  agitated 
with  sorrow,  fear,  and  regret,  insomuch  that  his 
master  noticed  the  remarkable  change  in  his  ap- 
pearance and  conduct,  and  questioned  him  as  to 
the  cause  of  his  apparent  distress.  At  first  he 
was  unwilling  to  reveal  the  truth,  and  for  some 
time  evaded  the  inquiries  of  the  family;  but  at 
length,  by  the  urgent  expostulations  of  his  mas- 
ter, he  was  brought  to  confess  with  tears,  that 
on  such  a  night,  he  had  promised  to  let  in  men 
to  apprehend  the  godly  minister.  Mr.  Shepard 
was  immediately  conveyed  away  to  a  place  of 
safety,  by  his  friends ;  and  when  the  men  came 
at  the  time  appointed,  the  bird  had  escaped  from 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.    153 

the  snare  of  the  fowler.  Not  finding  the  door 
unbohed  as  they  expected  when  they  raised  the 
latch,  they  thrust  their  staves  under  it  to  lift  it 
from  its  hinges ;  but  being  observed  by  some 
persons  whom  the  good  man  of  the  house  had 
prudently  employed  for  that  purpose,  they  pre- 
cipitately fled  lest  they  should  be  arrested  and 
dealt  with  as  house-breakers.^ 


*  Johnson's  Wonder-working  Providence,  ch.  29. 


164  LIFB     OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Mr.  Shepard  sails  from  Harwich.  Danger  of  shipwreck  upon  the 
sands.  Man  overboard.  Windy  Saturday.  Prorideotial  deliver- 
ance. Goes  on  shore  at  Yarmouth.  Child  taken  sick  and  dies. 
Feelings  of  Mr.  Shepard.  Thinks  of  abandoning  the  voyage. 
Embarrassments.  Mrs.  Corbet  furnishes  an  asylum  at  Bastwictc 
Employment.  Writes  "  Select  Cases."  Goes  to  London.  Second 
child  bom.  Escape  from  the  pursuivants.  Spends  the  summer  in 
London.  Embarks  for  New  England  in  the  Defence.  Ship  springs 
a  leak.  Mrs.  Shepard  providentially  saved  from  death.  Arrival  at 
Boston. 

On  the  16th  of  October,  1634,  Mr.  Shepard 
and  his  friends  sailed  from  Harwich,  a  seaport 
in  Essex,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Stour. 
They  had  proceeded  but  a  few  leagues,  when 
the  wind  suddenly  changing  they  were  obliged 
to  cast  anchor  in  a  very  dangerous  place.  The 
wind  continued  to  blow  all  night;  and,  on  the 
morning  of  the  17th,  became  so  violent  that  the 
ship  dragged  her  anchors,  and  was  driven  upon 
the  sands  near  the  harbor  of  Harwich,  where  she 
was  for  some  time  in  the  most  imminent  peril. 
To  add  to  their  distress,  one  of  the  sailors,  in 
endeavoring  to  execute  some  order,  fell  over- 
board, and  was  carried  a  mile  or  more  out  to 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    155 

sea,  apparently  beyond  the  reach  of  any  human 
aid.  The  ship  and  crew  were  at  that  moment 
in  so  much  danger,  that  no  one  could  be  spared 
to  go  in  search  of  him,  if,  indeed,  the  boat  could 
have  lived  a  moment  in  the  sea  that  was  break- 
ing around  them ;  and  v^rhen  the  immediate 
danger  to  the  ship  was  over,  no  one  on  board 
supposed  that  the  poor  man  was  alive.  He  was, 
however,  discovered  floating  upon  the  waves  at 
a  great  distance,  though  it  was  known  that  he 
was  not  able  to  swim ;  and  three  seamen  put  off 
in  the  boat,  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives,  to  save 
him.  When  they  reached  him,  though  he  was 
floating,  supported  as  it  were  by  a  Divine  hand, 
he  exhibited  no  signs  of  life,  and  having  taken 
him  on  board,  they  laid  him  in  the  bottom  of  the 
boat,  supposing  him  to  be  dead.  One  of  the 
men,  however,  was  unwilling  to  give  up  his 
ship-mate  without  using  all  the  means  in  their 
power  for  his  resuscitation.  Upon  turning  his 
head  downward,  in  order  to  let  the  water  run 
out,  he  began  to  breathe ;  in  a  few  moments, 
under  such  treatment  as  their  good  sense  sug- 
gested, he  was  able  to  move  and  to* speak;  and 
by  the  time  they  reached  the  ship,  he  had  re- 
covered the  use  of  his  limbs,  having  been  in  the 
water  more  than  an  hour.  This  incident  is  in- 
teresting Tnajrjly  on  account  of  the  prophetic  use 


156   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

that  was  made  of  it  by  one  of  the  passengers, 
probably  either  Mr.  Shepard  or  Mr.  Norton,  in 
his  efforts  to  encourage  the  desponding  com- 
pany. "  This  man's  danger  and  deliverance," 
said  he,  "  is  a  type  of  ours.  We  are  in  great 
danger,  and  yet  the  Lord's  power  will  be  shown 
in  saving  us." 

The  event  corresponded  to  the  prediction,  and 
the  strong  faith  of  the  man  of  God,  like  that  of 
Paul,  in  his  stormy  voyage  to  Rome,  was  re- 
warded by  the  deliverance  which  it  confidently 
expected.  The  ship  that  was  driving  rapidly 
towards  the  shore,  and  actually  touching  the 
sands  with  her  keel,  was,  by  some  means, 
turned  about,  and  beaten  back  towards  Yar- 
mouth roads,  "  an  open  place  at  sea,  fit  for 
anchorage,  but  otherwise  a  very  dangerous 
place."  Here  they  came  to  anchor,  and  hoped 
to  ride  out  the  gale.  But  on  Saturday  morning, 
October  18,  the  storm  increased  in  violence,  and 
the  wind  from  the  west  blew  with  such  destruc- 
tive fury,  that  the  day  was  long  known  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  as  the  Windy  Satur- 
day. Many  vessels  were  cast  away  in  this 
storm ;  and  among  them  the  collier  which 
brought  Mr.  Shepard  from  Newcastle,  the  cap- 
tain and  all  his  men  being  lost.  When  the  wind 
arose  the  anchors  were  thrown  out,  but  the  ca- 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.    157 

bles  parted  immediately,  and  the  ship  drifted 
rapidly  towards  the  sands  where  her  destruction 
seemed  inevitable.  The  master  gave  up  all  for 
lost,  and  the  passengers  resorted  to  prayer. 
Guns  were  fired  for  assistance  from  the  town ; 
but,  although  thousands  were  spectators  of  their 
danger,  and  large  rewards  were  offered  to  any 
who  would  venture  their  lives  to  save  the  pas- 
sengers and  crew,  yet  so  dreadful  was  the  storm 
that  no  one  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  volunteer 
in  this  service.  It  was  known  among  the  crowd 
that  gazed  from  the  walls  of  Yarmouth  upon  this 
terrible  scene,  that  the  ship  was  full  of  Puritan 
emigrants,  and  therefore  a  peculiar  interest  was 
felt  in  the  catastrophe  which  seemed  to  await 
her, — some  fervently  praying  that  the  Lord 
would  deliver  his  people  from  the  danger  that 
threatened  them ; — and  others,  probably,  im- 
piously rejoicing  in  their  anticipated  destruc- 
tion. One  man,  an  officer  of  some  kind,  ven- 
tured to  give  expression  to  the  feelings  which 
were  cherished  by  many.  With  a  spirit  of 
prophecy,  somewhat  like  that  of  Balaam,  when 
he  was  constrained  to  bless  with  his  mouth  the 
people  whom  he  cursed  in  his  heart,  he  scof- 
fingly  exclaimed,  that  he  "  pitied  the  poor  collier 
in  the  road," — referring  to  the  coal  vessel  in 
which  Mr.  Sliepard  had  sailed  from  Newcastle, — 

VOL.    IV.  14 


158   LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

"  but  for  the  Puritans  in  the  other  ship,  he  felt  no 
concern,  for  their  faith  would  save  them." 

And  their  faith, — or  rather  the  Lord  in  whom 
they  trusted,  and  for  whose  glory  they  had  en- 
countered perils  by  sea  as  well  as  by  land, — did 
save  them,  in  a  remarkable  way  and  by  unex- 
pected means.  The  captain  and  the  sailors  had 
lost  all  presence  of  mind ;  and  believing  that  the 
storm  was  preternatural,  and  that  the  ship  weis 
bewitched,  they  made  use  of  the  only  means  of 
escape  they  could  think  of,  which  was  nailing 
two  red  hot  horse-shoes  to  the  mainmast  as  a 
charm.  *  But  there  was  on  board  a  drunken 
fellpw,  "no  sailor,  though  he  had  often  been 
to  sea,"  w^ho  had  taken  it  into  his  head  to 
accompany  these  pious  people  to  New  Eng- 
land, to  whose  cool  judgment  they  now,  under 
God,  owed  their  deliverance.  Instead  of  nailing 
horse-shoes  to  the  mast,  he  advised  that  it 
should  be  cut  away,  as  the  only  possible  method 
of  saving  the  ship.  The  captain  and  the  crew, 
bewildered  by  terror,  were  incapable  of  listen- 
ing to  advice ;  and  at  last  Cock, — for  that  was 
the  man's  name, — assuming  the  responsibility, 
called  for  hatchets,  and  encouraging  the  com- 
pany and  the  seamen  who  were  "  forlorn  and 


••■Johnson.   Hi«t.  N.  Eng.  ch.  29. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD.    159 

hopeless  of  life,"  they  cut  the  masts  by  the  board, 
just  at  the  moment  when  all  had  given  them- 
selves up  for  lost,  expecting  "to  see  neither  New 
nor  old  England,  nor  faces  of  friends  any  more." 
When  the  mast  was  down,  a  small  anchor 
which  remained,  was  thrown  out;  but  it  being 
very  light,  the  ship  dragged,  and  continued  to 
drift  rapidly  towards  the  shore.  The  sailors, 
supposing  that  the  anchor  was  gone,  or  that  it 
would  not  hold,  pointed  to  the  devouring  sands 
where  so  many  vessels  had  been  engulfed,  and 
bid  the  passengers  behold  the  place  where  their 
graves  should  shortly  be.  The  captain  declared 
that  he  had  done  all  that  he  could,  and  desired 
the  ministers  to  pray  for  help  from  above.  Ac- 
cordingly Mr.  Norton,  with  the  passengers,  two 
hundred  in  number,  in  one  place,  and  Mr.  Shep- 
ard,  with  the  mariners  upon  deck,  "  went  to 
prayer,"  and  committed  their  "  souls  and  bodies 
unto  the  Lord  that  gave  them,"  Immediately 
after  prayer  the  violence  of  the  wind  began  to 
abate,  and  the  ship  ceased  to  drift.  The  last 
anchor  was  not  lost,  as  they  thought,  but  was 
dragged  along,  ploughing  the  sand  by  the  vio- 
lence of  the  wind,  which  abating  after  prayer, 
though  still  violent,  "  the  ship  was  stopped  just 
when  it  was  ready  to  be  swallowed  up  of  the 
sands,"     They   were    still,   however,   in    great 


160   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPAED. 

danger ;  for  the  wind  was  high,  and  though  the 
anchor  had  brought  the  ship  up,  yet  the  "  cable 
was  let  out  so  far  that  a  little  rope  held  the  ca- 
ble, and  the  cable  the  little  anchor,  and  the  little 
anchor  the  great  ship  in  this  great  storm." 
When  one  of  the  company,  whose  faith  was 
stronger  than  cable  or  tempest,  saw  how 
strangely  they  were  preserved,  exclaimed, 
"  That  thread  we  hang  by" — for  so  he  called 
the  rope  attached  to  the  cable, — "  will  save  us." 
And  so,  indeed,  it  did,  "  the  Lord  showing  his 
dreadful  power,  and  yet  his  unspeakable  rich 
mercy  towards  us,  who  heard,  nay  helped  us, 
when  we  could  not  cry  through  the  disconsolate 
fears  we  had,  out  of  these  depths  of  seas  and 
miseries."  This  deliverance  was  so  great,  and 
so  manifestly  wrought  in  answer  to  prayer,  that 
Mr.  Shepard  thought,  if  he  ever  reached  the 
shore  again,  he  should  live  like  one  risen 
from  the  dead,  and  he  desired  that  this 
mercy,  to  him  and  his  family,  might  be  remem- 
bered to  the  glory  of  God,  by  his  "  children 
and  their  children's  children,"  when  he  was 
dead,  and  could  not  "  praise  the  Lord  in  the 
land  of  the  living  any  more." 

They  remained  on  board  during  the  night  in 
comparative  safety, — the  storm  continuing  to 
abate, — but    in    a   very   comfortless  condition. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD.     161 

Many  were  sick, "  many  weak  and  discouraged," 
and  there  were  "many  sad  hearts."  On  Sab- 
bath morning,  October  19th,  they  went  on  shore. 
The  Puritans  were  very  strict  in  their  observ- 
ance of  the  Sabbath ;  and  Mr.  Shepard  thought 
that  they  were  in  too  much  haste  to  leave  the 
ship,  and  that  they  ought  to  have  spent  the  day 
on  board  in  praising  the  Lord  for  his  signal  in- 
terposition in  their  behalf.  But  there  were 
many  feeble  persons  among  them  who  were 
unable  to  engage  in  religious  exercises,  and  had 
need  of  refreshment  on  shore  ;  and  besides,  they 
were  "  afraid  of  neglecting  a  season  of  provi- 
dence in  going  out  while  they  had  a  calm;"  for 
they  were  held  as  it  were  by  "  a  thread,"  and 
if  the  wind  should  rise  again,  they  might  all  find 
their  graves  in  the  sands.  Mr.  Shepard  and  his 
family  left  the  ship  in  the  first  boat  that  was  sent 
from  the  town  to  take  off  the  passengers.  And 
here  they  were  visited  by  a  new  and  more  bitter 
affliction.  They  were  saved  from  the  devouring 
waters  to  be  smitten  by  the  sudden  and  myste- 
rious death  of  their  only  child,  now  about  a  year 
old.  In  the  passage  from  the  ship  to  the  shore, 
he  was  seized  with  vomiting,  which  no  means 
they  could  use, — lalthough  they  had  all  neces- 
sary medical  aid  at  Yarmouth,  could  check. 
After  lingering  for  a  fortnight  in  great  distress 
14* 


162   LIFE     OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

he  died,  and  was  buried  at  Yarmouth.  The 
funeral  was  conducted  very  privately;  and  it 
was  no  small  aggravation  of  the  sorrow  which 
they  felt  for  the  loss  of  their  first-born,  that  Mr. 
Shepard  dared  not  be  present,  lest  the  pursui- 
vants should  discover  and  apprehend  him.  For, 
as  soon  as  they  were  ashore,  says  Scottou,  "  two 
vipers  designed  not  only  to  leap  upon  the  hands" 
of  Shepard  and  Norton,  "  but  to  seize  their  per- 
sons. But  how  strangely  preserved,  is  not  un- 
known to  some  of  tLS."*^ 

It  is  interesting  to  learn  what  were  the  feel- 
ings and  exercises  of  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Shep- 
ard under  afflictions  like  these  ;  for  the  inward 
experiences  of  such  minds  furnish  great  lessons 
for  us.  There  was  no  murmuring  under  the 
rod.  The  feeling  of  his  heart  was  that  of  a  lov- 
ing child  kindly  chastised  by  a  tender  father ; 
and  he  saw  in  every  blow  a  manifestation  of 
divine  love,  and  a  corrective  of  his  wayward- 
ness. As  if  the  Lord  "  saw  that  these  waters 
were  not  sufficient  to  wash  away  my  sinfulness, 
he  cast  me  into  the  fire.  He  showed  me  my 
weak  faith,  pride,  carnal  content,  immoderate 
love  of  creatures,  of  my  child  especially,  and 
begat  in  me  some  desires  and  purposes  to  fear 


*  CAironiclM  of  Maaa.  540,  Note. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.    163 

his  name.  I  considered  how  unfit  I  was  to  go 
to  such  a  good  land  (as  New  England)  with 
such  an  unmortified,  hard,  dark,  formal  hypo- 
critical heart ;  and  therefore  no  wonder  if  the 
Lord  did  thus  cross  me."  He  even  began  to 
fear, — such  was  his  tenderness  of  conscience, 
and  desire  to  walk  in  all  the  commandments 
and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless, — that  his 
affliction  came,  in  part,  for  "  running  too  far  in 
a  way  of  separation  from  the  mixed  assemblies 
in  England,"  though  this,  of  all  his  sins,  must 
have  been  the  smallest,  for  he  did  not  forsake 
the  church  until  he  was  driven  from  it  by  arbi- 
trary force ;  and  he  always  believed  and  de- 
clared,— what  none  of  the  Puritans  ever  denied, 
— that  there  were  "  true  churches  in  may  par- 
ishes in  England,"  and  also  true  ministers  of 
the  gospel,  whose  preaching  he  never  refused  to 
hear  when  he  had  opportunity. 

One  effect  of  these  afflictions, — the  sudden 
death  of  his  only  child,  and  the  tremendous 
storm  which  seemed  like  a  frown  of  providence 
upon  their  voyage, — was  to  diminish  very  much 
his  desire  of  emigrating  to  New  England,  and 
to  make  him  almost  willing  to  remain  and  suffer 
at  home.  This  state  of  mind,  however,  did  not 
continue  long.  When  he  remembered  that  he 
had  been  tossed  from  one  end  of  England  to  the 


164   LIFE     OF     THOMAS      SHEFARD. 

Other, — that  there  was  no  place  in  his  native 
land  where  he  could  preach  the  gospel, — that  so 
long  as  he  refused  conformity  to  the  errors  and 
corruptions  of  the  church,  nothing  but  "  bonds 
and  afflictions "  awaited  him, — that  a  "door  of 
escape  "  was  providentially  opened, — and  that 
in  this  distant  land  he  should  not  only  be  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  bishops,  but  find  a  place  where 
he  might  labor  for  the  cause  of  Christ, — his  de- 
sire to  emigrate  revived,  and  he  resolved  that  as 
soon  as  practicable,  he  would  make  another  at- 
tempt to  place  the  ocean  between  him  and  his 
persecutors. 

In  the  mean  time  he  was  in  great  distress, 
not  knowing  where  to  go  nor  what  to  do.  The 
Philistines  were  upon  him.  There  seemed  to 
be  no  place  of  safety.  He  could  neither  labor 
for  a  subsistence,  nor  could  his  friends,  without 
great  danger,  minister  effectually  to  his  neces- 
sities. In  this  time  of  need, — the  most  trying 
and  apparently  hopeless  he  had  ever  experi- 
enced,— Roger  Harlakenden,  and  his  brother 
Samuel,  having  heard  of  his  escape  from  the 
dangers  of  the  sea,  and  of  worse  dangers  to 
which  he  was  still  exposed  upon  land,  visited 
him,  and  refreshed  his  spirit  by  their  sympathy 
and  assistance.  While  casting  about  where 
to  spend  the  winter  that  was  approaching,  Mr. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    165 

Bridge,  minister  of  Norwich,  kindly  offered 
him  an  asylum  in  his  family.  But  a  Mrs. 
Corbet,  an  aged,  and  eminently  pious  wo- 
man, who  lived  about  five  miles  from  Nor- 
wich, fearing  that  Mr.  Bridge  might  hazard  his 
liberty  by  harboring  the  fugitive,  invited  him  to 
occupy  a  house  of  hers,  then  vacant,  at  Bastwick, 
a  small  hamlet  in  the  county  of  Norfolk.  And 
she  not  only  furnished  him  with  a  house  which 
"was  fit  to  entertain  any  prince  for  fairness, 
greatness,  and  pleasantness,"  but  in  various 
ways  endeavored  to  render  the  season  of  his 
detention  and  confinement  as  comfortable  as  pos- 
sible. Here  with  his  wife  and  a  few  friends, — 
Mr.  Harlakenden  defraying  the  whole  expense  of 
house-keeping, — he  passed  the  winter  of  1634-5, 
far  from  the  notice  of  his  enemies,  and  solaced 
by  "  sweet  fellowship  one  with  another,  and  also 
with  God."  Nor  was  he  idle  in  this  comfortable 
retreat.  For  although  he  could  not  preach  pub- 
licly, he  could  employ  his  pen  for  the  instruc- 
tion and  consolation  of  his  afflicted  friends,  and 
by  diligent  study  prepare  himself  for  that  ser- 
vice to  which  he  was  soon  to  be  called  in  the 
new  world.  It  was  during  this  season  that  he 
wrote  the  little  work,  first  published  at  London 
in  1648,  entitled  "  Select  Cases  Resolved,"  in 
a  letter  to  a  pious  friend,  who  had  fallen  into 


166   LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

doubt  and  difficulty  respecting  the  questions 
therein  discussed.  In  the  Title  pages  of  the 
first  two  editions,  this  letter  is  said  to  have  been 
sent  from  New  England ;  but  from  several  ex- 
pressions at  the  commencement  and  at  the  close, 
it  is  evident  that  it  was  written  in  England,  and 
upon  the  eve  of  his  departure  from  that  country; 
for  he  says  "  It  may  possibly  be  my  dying  letter 
to  you  before  I  depart  from  hence  and  return  to 
Him,  as  not  knowing  but  our  last  disasters  and 
sea-straits,  of  which  I  wrote  to  you,  may  be  but 
the  preparation  for  the  execution  of  the  next  ap- 
proaching voyage."  And  again  in  the  conclu- 
sion, "  I  thank  you  heartily  for  improving  me 
this  way  of  writing,  who  have  my  mouth  stopped 
from  speaking" — a  calamity  which  certainly 
never  befell  him  in  New  England, — "  and  re- 
member when  you  are  best  able  to  pray  for 
yourself,  to  look  after  me  and  mine,  and  all  that 
go  with  me  on  the  mighty  waters ;  and  then  to 
look  up  and  sigh  to  heaven  for  me,  that  the 
Lord  would  out  of  his  free  grace  but  bring  me 
to  that  good  land,  and  those  glorious  ordinances, 
and  that  there  I  may  but  behold  the  face  of  the 
Lord  in  his  temple," — a  request  which  he  never 
had  occasion  to  make  after  landing  on  these 
shores.  Of  this  letter,  vnritten  in  a  time  of 
great  trial,  and  coming  from  a  mind  itself  need> 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    167 

ing  all  the  consolations  of  friendship  and  relig- 
ion, it  is  only  necessary  to  say  in  the  language 
of  those  who  first  gave  it  to  the  public,  that 
it  is  "  so  full  of  grace  and  truth,  that  it  needs 
no  other  epistle  commendatory  than  itself,"  and 
no  one  who  desires  to  walk  comfortably  with 
God  in  his  general  and  particular  calling,  can 
study  these  answers,  in  which  acuteness,  depth, 
piety,  and  Christian  experience  are  so  eminently 
and  happily  blended,  without  becoming  a  wiser 
and  a  holier  man."^ 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1635,  Mr,  Shepard, 
accompanied  by  his  friend  Harlakenden,  went 
up  to  London,  in  order  to  make  all  necessary 
preparation  for  another  attempt  to  leave  Eng- 
land. During  the  journey,  which  seems  to  have 
been  somewhat  protracted,  he  was  nearly  de- 
prived of  his  faithful  and  devoted  wife.  At  the 
house  of  Mr.  Burroughs,  a  puritan  minister, 
where  they  stopped  about  a  fortnight,  Mrs. 
Shepard,  being  near  her  confinement,  "fell  down 
from  the  top  of  a  pair  of  stairs  to  the  bottom ; 
yet  the  Lord  kept  her,  and  the  child  also,  from 
that  deadly  danger."  Upon  their  arrival  at 
London  in  the  very  neighborhood  of  their  "great 
enemy  "  Laud,  and  not  knowing  where  to  hide 


*  Prefaces  to  Select  Cases  Resolved,  by  Adderly,  Geree,  and  Green- 
hill. 


168   LIFE     OF     THOMAS     SHEFARD. 

themselves,  a  Mrs.  Sherbourne  provided  a  **  very 
private  place  "  for  them ;  where,  on  Sunday, 
April  5,  1625,  their  second  son  was  born,  whom 
they  named  Thomas,  after  his  brother  who  died 
at  Yarmouth.  The  mother  soon  recovered,  but 
the  child  was  sickly,  and  at  one  time  they 
thought  he  would  have  died  of  a  sore  mouth. 
Mr.  Shepard  had  more  confidence  in  prayer  than 
in  the  physician's  skill ;  and  in  the  night  he  was 
"  stirred  up  to  pray  "  for  the  life  of  the  child, 
and  "  that  with  very  much  fervor,  and  many 
arguments;"  and  thus  after  a  sad,  heavy  night 
the  Lord  shined  upon  him  in  the  morning,  and 
he  found  the  sore  mouth,  which  was  thought  to  be 
incurable,  "  suddenly  and  strangely  amended." 
They  had  not  been  long  in  London  before  their 
hiding-place  was  discovered  by  their  enemies, 
and  in  order  to  escape  from  the  "  vipers  "  that 
were  ready  to  fasten  upon  them,  they  re- 
moved by  night  to  a  house  belonging  to  Mr. 
Alured,  which  providentially  stood  empty.  The 
pursuivants,  who  were  sent  to  apprehend  Mr. 
Shepard,  were  a  little  too  late;  for  upon  enter- 
ing the  place  where  he  had  been  secreted,  they 
found  that  the  whole  family  had  gone  no  one 
knew  wither ;  and  thus  once  more  the  Lord  de- 
livered his  faithful  servant  from  the  snares  which 
had  been  laid  for  him. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.    169 

In  the  closest  retirement,  but  not  without  much 
sympathy  and  many  tokens  of  love  from  Christ- 
ian friends,  Mr.  Shepard  and  his  family  passed 
the  summer  of  1635  in  London.  Towards  the 
close  of  the  summer, — Mrs.  Shepard  and  the 
child  having  recovered  their  strength  in  some 
measure, — they  began  to  prepare  again  for  their 
removal  to  New  England.  The  reasons  which 
had  led  them  to  this  decision  the  year  before, 
still  existed  with  perhaps  increasing  force  ;  and 
it  became  more  and  more  evident  every  day 
that  there  was  no  longer  any  place  or  duty  for 
them  in  England.  Several  "  precious  friends  " 
were  resolved,  and  waiting  to  sail  with  Mr. 
Shepard,  among  whom  were  Roger  Harlaken- 
den,  Mr.  Champney,  Mr.  Wilson,  Mr.  Jones, 
afterwards  colleague  with  Mr.  Bulkley  at  Con- 
cord, besides  many  pious  people  who  were 
ready  to  follow  their  persecuted  ministers  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  gospel 
in  its  purity.  All  necessary  arrangements  hav- 
ing been  made,  on  the  10th  of  August,  1635, — 
a  day  to  be  remembered  by  the  people  of  this 
commonwealth, — the  company  embarked  on 
board  the  ship  Defence,  of  London,  commanded 
by  Capt.  Thomas  Bostock,  and  commenced  their 
voyage ;  "  having  tasted  much  of  God's  mercy 

VOL.    IV.  15 


170    LIFE     OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

in  England,  and  lamenting  the  loss  of  our  na- 
tive country,  when  we  took  our  last  view  of  it." 
Mr.  Shepard,  it  has  been  said,  embarked  in  dis- 
guise, and  under  the  assumed  name  of  his  brother, 
"  John  Shepard,  husbandman."  The  authority 
for  this  statement  is  found  in  a  list  of  passengers 
who  came  over  in  the  Defence,  taken  from  a 
manuscript  volume,  discovered  in  the  Augmen- 
tation Office,  so  called,  by  Mr.  Savage,  in  the 
year  1842,  which  contains  the  names  of  persons 
permitted  to  embark  at  the  port  of  London,  be- 
tween Christmas  1634,  and  the  same  period  in 
the  following  year.  In  this  list  we  have,  among 
others,  the  names  of  John  Shepard,  husband- 
man, aged  thirty  six, — Margarett  Shepard,  thirty 
one,  and  Thomas  Shepard,  three  months.  Sam- 
uel Shepard  appears  as  a  servant  of  Roger  Har- 
lakenden.  Neither  Mr.  Wilson  nor  Mr.  Jones 
are  mentioned,  though  they  were  certainly  on 
board ;  but  Sarah  Jones,  aged  thirty-four,  with 
her  children,  is  named  among  the  passengers.* 
It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Shepard  did  embark  un- 
der the  name  of  his  brother  John,  though  as  he 
was  born  in  1605,  he  could  have  been  but  thirty 
years  of  age  when  he  came  to  this  country,  and 
Margarett  seems  to  have  been  somewhat  young- 
er.    We  know  that  great  efibrts  were  at  that 

*Maaf.  Hi*U  CoU.  zxriii.  268,  269,  273. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD.    171 

time  made  to  prevent  the  ministers  from  leaving 
England.  As  early  as  1629,  Mr.  Higginson, 
writing  from  Salem,  exhorted  his  friends  to  come 
quickly,  for  if  they  lingered  too  long  "  the  pas- 
sages of  Jordan,  through  the  malice  of  Satan, 
might  be  stopped."  Cotton,  Hooker,  and  Stone, 
who  came  in  1633,  with  great  difSculty  eluded 
the  vigilance  of  the  pursuivants,  and  escaped 
from  the  country.  Richard  Mather  was  obliged 
to  conceal  himself  until  the  vessel  was  at  sea. 
In  April,  1637,  a  proclamation  was  issued  "  to 
restrain  the  disorderly  transportation  of  his  maj- 
esty's subjects  to  the  colonies  without  leave," 
commanding  that  "  no  license  should  be  given 
them,  without  a  certificate  that  they  had  taken 
the  oaths  of  supremacy  and  allegiance,  and  had 
conformed  to  the  discipline  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land."^ The  danger,  therefore,  to  which  Mr. 
Shepard,  in  common  with  others,  was  exposed, 
was  great  enough  to  render  concealment  desira- 
ble and  necessary.  How  far  any  one  is  justifia- 
ble in  assuming  the  name  of  another  for  the 
purpose  of  avoiding  danger,  or  of  doing  a  good 
work,  is  a  question  of  casuistry  which  every 
reader  will  decide  according  to  his  light :  but  all 
candid  persons  who  become  familiar  with  the 


*  See  Chronicles  of  Massachusetts,  pp.  260,  428,  notes. 


172    LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

character  of  Shepard,  and  with  the  circum- 
stances in  which  he  was  placed,  must  be  con- 
vinced that  he  intended  to  act  conscientiously ; 
and  that  if  he  did  not,  as  he  confessed,  belong 
to  that  class  of  Martyrs  to  whom  God  gave  "  a 
spirit  of  courage  and  willingness  to  glorify  him 
by  sufferings  at  home,"  he  was  at  least  a  sin- 
cere lover  of  truth,  and  foremost  among  those 
holy  men  who  were  prepared  to  "  go  to  a  wil- 
derness, where  they  could  forecast  nothing  but 
care  and  temptation,"  for  the  sake  of  enjoying 
Christ  in  his  ordinances,  and  of  propagating  the 
gospel  in  its  divine  purity.  If  any  think  that 
he  erred  in  not  boldly  facing  the  terrors  of  the 
Star-Chamber,  "  let  him  that  is  without  sin 
among  them  cast  the  first  stone  at  him." 

The  ship  in  which  they  embarked  was  old, 
rotten,  and  altogether  unfit  for  such  a  voyage. 
In  the  first  storm  they  encountered,  she  sprung 
a  leak  which  exposed  them  to  imminent  peril ; 
and  they  were  on  the  point  of  returning  to  port, 
when,  with  much  difficulty,  they  succeeded  in 
repairing  the  damage.  They  had  a  stormy  and 
rough  passage.  The  infant  Thomas,  who,  at 
their  embarkation  was  so  feeble  that  the  parents 
and  friends  feared  he  could  not  live  until  they 
reached  New  England,  was  much  benefited  by 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    173 

the  sea ;  but  the  mother,  worn  out  by  constant 
watching,  hardship,  and  exposure,  at  last  took  a 
cold, — terminating  in  consumption, — which  in  a 
few  months  consigned  her  to  an  early  grave. 
Among  other  incidents  of  the  voyage,  Mrs. 
Shepard's  miraculous  preservation  from  "  immi- 
nent and  apparent  death,"  ought  not  to  be  passed 
over  in  silence.  In  one  of  the  violent  storms 
which  they  experienced,  she  was,  by  the  sudden 
lurching  of  the  ship,  thrown  head  foremost, 
with  the  child  in  her  arms,  directly  towards  a 
large  iron  bolt ;  and  "  being  ready  to  fall,  she 
felt  herself  plucked  back  by  she  knew  not 
what,"  whereby  both  she  and  the  child  escaped 
all  injury, — a  wonderful  interposition  which  Mr. 
Shepard  and  others  who  witnessed  it,  could  as- 
cribe to  nothing  but  "  the  angels  of  God  who 
are  ministering  spirits  for  the  heirs  of  life." 

On  the  second  day  of  October,  1635,  after 
fifty-four  wearisome  days  upon  the  sea,  they 
came  in  sight  of  the  land  where  they  hoped  to 
find  rest  both  for  the  body  and  the  soul ;  and  on 
ihe  third,  they  landed  safely  at  Boston,  "  with  re- 
joicing in  God  after  a  longsome  voyage,"  and 
amidst  the  hearty  congratulations  of  numerous 
friends  whose  houses  were  hospitably  thrown 
open  for  their  accommodation.  Mr.  Shepard 
15* 


174   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

and  his  family  were  kindly  provided  for  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  Coddington, — then  treasurer  of  the 
colony, — where  they  remained  until  after  the 
Sabbath:  and  on  Monday,  October  5,  they 
removed  to  Newtown,  which  was  to  be  their 
future  field  of  labor,  and  their  quiet  home. 


LIFE      OF      TUOMAS      SHEPARD.    175 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Sketch  of  the  early  history  of  Newtown.  Organization  of  the  second 
church  in  Newtown.  Death  of  Mrs.  Shepard.  Sickness  of  Thomaa. 
Antinomian  controversy.  Mr.  Shepard's  position  and  influence  in 
this  controversy.  First  Synod  in  Newton.  Mr  Hooker's  objec- 
tions.   Result  of  Synod. 

Newtown,  afterwards  called  Cambridge,  was 
selected  as  the  site  of  a  town  which  the  set- 
tlers intended  to  fortify  and  make  the  metropolis 
of  the  Massachusetts  colony.  In  the  spring  of 
the  year  1631,  Winthrop,  who  had  the  year  pre- 
ceding been  chosen  Governor,  came  to  this 
place,  and  set  up  the  frame  of  a  house  upon  the 
spot  where  he  first  pitched  his  tent.  The  Deputy 
Governor,  Dudley,  completed  a  house  for  him- 
self, and  removed  his  family,  with  the  expecta- 
tion that  this  was  to  be  the  seat  of  government. 
The  town  was  laid  out  near  Charles  river  in 
squares,  the  streets  intersecting  each  other  at 
right  angles.  It  soon  became  evident,  however, 
that  Boston  was  to  be  the  chief  place  of  com- 
merce ;  and  the  neighboring  Indians,  having 
ceased  their  hostility  and  made  overtures  of  per- 


176   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

petual  friendship  with  the  colonists,  Governor 
Winthrop  removed  the  frame  of  his  house  to 
Boston,  and  the  scheme  of  a  fortified  town  here 
was  abandoned. 

But  though  the  design  of  making  Newtown 
the  capital  of  the  colony  was  given  up,  it  re- 
mained still  under  the  especial  care  and  direc- 
tion of  the  government.  The  annual  election 
of  Governor  and  Magistrates  was,  for  some  time, 
held  here  ;  and  in  1632,  the  General  Court  appro- 
priated sixty  pounds,  to  be  raised  by  the  several 
plantations,  towards  erecting  a  Palisade  about  it. 
The  first  settlers  of  the  town,  though  few  in 
number,  were  generally  in  good  circumstances ; 
and  they  soon  received  a  valuable  accession  by 
the  arrival  of  a  company,  recently  from  England, 
who  had  commenced  a  settlement  at  Brain- 
tree,  but  who,  by  direction  of  the  General 
Court,  removed  to  Newtown  in  August  1632. 
Winthrop  calls  them  *'  Mr.  Hooker's  Company," 
from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that  they  were 
from  that  part  of  the  county  of  Essex,  where  Mr. 
Hooker  was  settled.  Mr.  Hooker,  however,  did 
not  come  over  with  this  company,  and  the  people 
of  Newtown  had  as  yet  no  minister ;  but  they 
erected  a  meeting-house  preparatory  to  the  set- 
tlement of  the  ministry  and  the  ordinance  of  the 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    177 

Gospel  among  them,  feeling,  as  one  of  the  early 
Fathers  remarks,  that  a  country  however  beauti- 
ful and  prosperous,  without  a  Gospel  ministry 
is,  "like  a  blacksmith  without  his  fire." 

Mr.  Hooker,  in  company  with  Mr.  Cotton  and 
Mr.  Stone  arrived  in  the  month  of  September 
1633,  and  on  the  11th  of  October  following,  he 
with  Mr.  Stone  for  his  assistant,  was  ordained 
over  the  people  of  Newtown,  many  of  whom 
had  sat  under  his  ministry  in  England,  and  af- 
ter their  settlement  here,  had  never  ceased  to 
importune  him  to  come  and  take  the  pastoral 
charge  of  them.  In  May  1634,  the  people  of 
Newtown,  being  as  they  alledged  straitened  for 
room,  and  having  obtained  leave  of  the  General 
Court  to  look  out  a  place  either  for  extension  or 
removal,  sent  several  of  their  number  to  Aga- 
wara,  and  Merrimack,  to  find  if  possible  a  more 
suitable  location  for  their  growing  community. 
Not  succeeding  to  their  satisfaction  in  this  at- 
tempt, they  petitioned  for  leave  to  remove  to  the 
banks  of  the  Connecticut  river,  where  they  were 
certain  of  finding  ample  territory,  and  a  fruitful 
soil.  The  subject  was  earnestly  discussed  in  the 
General  Court  for  several  days.  The  principal  ar- 
guments in  favor  of  granting  the  petition  were — 
that  the  people,  without  more  land  for  their  cat- 


178   LIFE     OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

tie,  could  not  maintain  their  minister,  or  receive 
any  more  of  their  friends  who  might  be  disposed 
to  come  and  assist  them ; — that  if  the  fertile  coun- 
try upon  the  Connecticut  were  not  speedily  oc- 
cupied by  a  colony  from  Massachusetts,  the 
Dutch  or  the  English  might  take  possession  of 
it,  which  would  be  very  undesirable  ; — that  the 
towns  in  the  colony  were  located  too  near  each 
other ; — and  finally,  that  they  were  strongly  in- 
clined, and  in  fact  had  made  up  their  minds  to 
go, — a  reason  as  conclusive,  perhaps,  as  any 
other.  To  what  they  avowed  as  the  grounds  of 
their  desire  to  remove  so  far  from  the  parent 
colony,  some  have  ventured  to  guess  at  one  which 
they  never  avowed,  and  probably  never  thought 
of,  namely,  that  Mr.  Hooker's  light  would  shine 
more  brightly,  and  be  more  conspicuous,  if  it 
were  farther  from  the  golden  candlestick  of  the 
church  in  Boston. 

On  the  other  hand  a  variety  of  reasons  were 
urged  against  their  removal.  It  was  said  that 
being  united  in  one  body  with  the  Massachusetts 
colony,  and  being  bound  by  oath  to  seek  the 
good  of  the  Commonwealth,  it  would  be  wrong, 
in  point  of  conscience,  to  allow  them  to  separate 
from  their  brethren ; — that  the  colony  was  weak 
and  constantly  in  danger  of  being  attacked  by 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    179 

its  enemies,  and  therefore  could  not  afford  to 
spare  so  large  a  number  of  their  most  influen- 
tial citizens  ; — that  the  departure  of  Mr.  Hooker 
would  not  only  draw  away  many  from  the 
colony,  but  divert  to  a  distant  part  of  the  coun- 
try friends  who  would  otherwise  settle  here  ; — 
that  by  removing  they  would  be  exposed  to 
great  danger,  from  the  Dutch,  who  claimed  the 
Connecticut  country,  and  had  already  built  a 
fort  there,  from  the  Indians,  and  from  the 
English  government,  which  would  not  permit 
them  to  settle  without  a  patent  in  any  place  to 
which  the  king  laid  claim ; — that  they  might  be 
accommodated  at  home  by  enlargement  from 
other  towns,  or  by  removal  to  any  other  place 
within  the  patent; — and  finally,  that  it  would  be 
the  removal  of  a  candlestick  out  of  its  place, 
which  was  a  calamity  by  all  means  to  be  avoided 
if  possible. 

When  the  question  was  taken,  the  Governor 
and  two  Assistants  voted  in  the  affirmative, — the 
Deputy  Governor,  together  with  the  other  As- 
sistants and  all  the  Deputies,  in  the  negative. 
At  this  stage  of  the  business  a  controversy  arose 
between  the  Court  of  Magistrates  and  the 
Deputies  respecting  the  legal  effect  of  this  vote, 
not  necessary  to  be  described  here.  It  is  suffi- 
cient to  say  that  the  proceedings  of  the  Court 


180  LIFE     OF     THOMAS     S  itVT  A  ft  »  . 

were  brought  to  a  stand  ;  and  so  great,  in  their 
opinion,  was  the  importance  of  the  question 
respecting  "  the  negative  voice,"  which  divided 
them,  that  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  for 
Divine  direction  was  set  apart,  by  public 
authority.  Accordingly  the  18th  day  of  Sep- 
tember was  observed  by  all  the  churches  in 
the  colony.  On  the  24th  of  the  same  month 
the  Court  again  met  at  Newtown.  Mr.  Hooker 
was  requested  to  deliver  a  discourse  upon  the 
important  occasion ;  but  he  declining  on  the 
ground  that  his  personal  interest  in  the  question 
rendered  him  unfit  for  this  service,  the  delicate 
and  difficult  task  was,  by  desire  of  the  whole 
Court,  performed  by  Mr.  Cotton.  He  chose  for 
his  text  Haggai  2 :  4,  from  which  he  took  occa- 
sion to  describe  the  nature,  or  the  strength,  as 
he  termed  it,  of  the  Magistracy,  of  the  Ministry, 
and  of  the  People.  The  strength  of  the  Magis- 
tracy, he  asserted  to  be  their  authority, — of  the 
Ministry,  their  purity, — and  of  the  People,  their 
liberty ; — shewing  that  each  of  these  had  a  nega- 
tive voice  in  relation  to  the  other,  and  yet  the 
right  of  ultimate  decision  was  in  the  whole  body 
of  the  people, — answering  all  objections, — and 
exhorting  the  people  to  maintain  their  liberties 
against  all  unjust  and  violent  attempts  to  take 
them  away. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.    181 

This  discourse  gave  great  satisfaction  to  all 
parties.  The  court  resumed  its  discussions  in  a 
better  and  more  forbearing  spirit ;  and  although 
the  deputies  were  not  satisfied  that  the  negative 
voice  should  be  left  to  the  magistrates,  yet  the 
subject  was  by  common  consent  dropped  for  that 
time.  The  result  was  that  the  people  of  New- 
town, seeing  how  unwilling  their  brethren  were 
that  they  should  remove  to  Connecticut,  came 
forward  and  accepted  such  lands  as  had  been 
offered  for  their  accommodation,  by  Boston  and 
Watertown.  This  arrangement,  however,  was 
not  long  satisfactory.  The  people  of  Newtown, 
having  fixed  their  eyes  and  their  minds  upon 
the  fine  country  upon  the  Connecticut,  soon  be- 
gan to  revive  the  project  of  removal,  and  many 
in  the  neighboring  towns  being  desirous  of  join- 
ing them  in  this  enterprise,  the  General  Court 
at  length  gave  them  leave  to  remove  whither 
they  would,  on  condition  of  their  remaining 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts. 

The  place  selected  by  the  agents  of  New- 
town, was  called  by  the  natives  Suckiaug, 
where,  towards  the  close  of  the  year  1635,  a 
plantation  was  commenced  by  a  few  of  their 
number,  the  great  body  of  the  people  with  their 
ministers  intending  to  follow  them  during  the 
ensuing  year.     Accordingly,  early  in  the  sum- 

VOL.    IV.  16 


182  LIFE     OF     THOMAS     SHBPASD. 

mer  of  1636,  Messrs.  Hooker  and  Stone,  with 
about  one  hundred  persons,  composing  the  whole, 
or  very  nearly  the  whole  of  the  congregation,  left 
Newtown  and  traveled  through  a  pathless  wil- 
derness to  the  place  which  they  had  chosen  as 
their  inheritance.  They  had  no  guide  but  their 
compass.  Like  the  Patriarchs,  they  drove  be- 
fore them  their  flocks  and  herds,  and  fed  upon 
the  milk  of  their  kine  by  the  way.  After  a  long 
and  tedious  journey  they  reached  Suckiaug  on 
the  Connecticut,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
city  of  Hartford. 

Upon  the  removal  of  Mr.  Hooker's  congrega- 
tion, Mr.  Shepard  and  those  who  accompanied 
him,  about  sixty  in  all,  purchased  the  houses 
thus  left  vacant,  to  dwell  in  until  they  should 
find  a  more  suitable  place  for  a  permanent  set- 
tlement. The  majority,  however,  soon  became 
desirous  of  remaining  at  Newtown,  and  were 
unvirilling  to  remove  farther,  •'  partly  because  of 
the  fellowship  of  the  churches ;  partly,  because 
they  thought  their  lives  were  short,  and  remov- 
als to  new  plantations  full  of  troubles;  partly, 
because  they  found  sufficient  for  themselves  and 
company."  They  therefore  resolved  to  remain, 
and  without  further  delay,  to  organize  them- 
selves into  a  church  for  the  enjoyment  of  those 
gospel  privileges   which  they  had  suffered   so 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPAED.    183 

much  to  secure.  The  necessary  arrangements 
were  accordingly  made,  and  on  the  first  day  of 
February,  1636,  corresponding  to  Feb.  11th, 
new  style,  a  public  assembly  was  convened,  and 
a  church,  the  first  permanent  one  in  Cambridge, 
and  the  eleventh  in  Massachusetts,  was  duly 
organized.  The  following  account  of  this  sol- 
emn transaction,  given  by  an  eye  witness,  is 
exceedingly  interesting  for  the  light  which  it 
throws  upon  the  manner  of  constituting  church- 
es in  the  time  of  our  Fathers. 

"  Mr.  Shepard,  a  godly  minister  come  lately 
out  of  England,  and  divers  other  good  Christ- 
ians, intending  to  raise  a  church  body,  came  and 
acquainted  the  magistrates  therewith,  who  gave 
their  approbation.  They  also  sent  to  all  the 
neighboring  churches  for  their  elders  to  give 
their  assistance,  at  a  certain  day,  at  Newtown, 
when  they  should  constitute  their  body.  Ac- 
cordingly, at  this  day,  there  met  a  great  assem- 
bly, where  the  proceeding  was  as  followeth : 
Mr.  Shepard,  and  two  others, — who  were  after 
to  be  chosen  to  office, — sat  together  in  the  elders' 
seat.  Then  the  elder  of  them  began  with 
prayer.  After  this  Mr.  Shepard  prayed  with 
deep  confession  of  sin,  &c.,  and  exercised  out  of 
Eph.  5  :  27,  "  That  he  might  present  it  to  him- 
self a  glorious  church,"  &c.,  and  also  opened 


184   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHBPARD. 

the  cause  of  their  meeting.  Then  the  elder  de- 
sired to  know  of  the  churches  assembled,  what 
number  were  needful  to  make  a  church,  and 
how  they  ought  to  proceed  in  this  action. 
Whereupon  some  of  the  ancient  ministers,  con- 
ferring shortly  together,  gave  answer  :  That  the 
Scripture  did  not  set  down  any  certain  rule  for 
the  number.  Three,  they  thought,  were  too  few, 
because  by  Matthew  18th  an  appeal  was  allowed 
from  three ;  but  that  seven  might  be  a  fit  num- 
ber. And,  for  their  proceeding,  they  advised, 
that  such  as  were  to  join  should  make  confes- 
sion of  their  faith,  and  declare  what  work  of 
grace  the  Lord  had  wrought  in  them ;  which 
accordingly  they  did,  Mr.  Shepard  first,  then 
four  others,  then  the  elder,  and  one  who  was  to 
be  deacon, — who  had  also  prayed, — and  anoth- 
er member.  Then  the  covenant  was  read,  and 
they  all  gave  a  solemn  assent  to  it.  Then  the 
elder  desired  of  the  churches,  that,  if  they  did 
approve  them  to  be  a  church,  they  would  give 
them  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  Whereupon 
Mr.  Cotton,  upon  short  speech  with  some  others 
near  him,  in  the  name  of  their  churches,  gave 
his  hand  to  the  elder,  with  a  short  speech  of 
their  assent,  and  desired  the  peace  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  to  be  with  them.  Then  Mr.  Shepard 
made  an  exhortation  to  the  rest  of  his  body, 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.    185 

about  the  nature  of 'their  covenant,  and  to  stand 
firm  to  it,  and  commended  them  to  the  Lord  in 
a  most  heavenly  prayer.  Then  the  elder  told 
the  assembly,  that  they  were  intended  to  choose 
Mr.  Shepard  for  their  pastor,  (by  the  name  of 
the  brother  who  had  exercised)  and  desired  the 
churches,  that,  if  they  had  any  thing  to  except 
against  him,  they  would  impart  it  to  them  be- 
fore the  day  of  ordination.  Then  he  gave 
the  churches  thanks  for  their  assistance^  and 
so  left  them  to  the  Lord."^  Mr.  Shepard's 
ordination,  or  rather  installation,  took  place  soon 
after,  but  the  exact  date  of  it  is  not  known.  It 
was  probably  deferred,  as  Mather  suggests, 
on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  and  for 
the  purpose  of  having  ample  time  for  the  per- 
formance of  those  solemnities  which  they  thought 
suitable  to  such  an  occasion. 

Mr.  Shepard's  ministry  in  Newtown  com- 
menced under  the  pressure  of  heavy  domestic 
affliction.  Within  a  fortnight  after  the  organi- 
zation of  the  church,  his  wife  Margaret,  whose 
health  had  been  for  some  time  rapidly  failing, 
was  taken  from  him  by  death.  It  had  been  her 
great  desire  to  see  her  husband  in  a  place  of 
safety  among  God's  people,  and  to  leave  her 


*  Winthrop's  Journal,  1. 179,  180. 

16* 


186    LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEFAED. 

child  under  the  pure  ordinances  of  the  gos- 
pel. Her  desire  was  granted.  Having  been 
received  into  the  fellowship  of  the  church, — 
having  g^ven  up  her  dear  child  in  the  ordinance 
of  baptism, — and  having  witnessed  the  hopeful 
beginning  of  the  work  for  which  she  had  sacri- 
ficed all  the  comforts  of  life,  and  even  life  itself, 
she  was  enabled  to  say,  with  Simeon  of  old, 
•'  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in 
peace,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation." 
The  precious  ordinances  for  which  she  had 
pined  amidst  the  privations  and  dangers  of  their 
wandering  life,  were  the  means  of  greatly  cheer- 
ing her  under  the  wasting  power  of  disease,  and 
of  filling  her  soul  with  a  sense  of  God's  love 
which  continued  until  the  last  breath.  Nothing 
can  be  more  beautiful  or  touching  than  Mr. 
Shepard's  reference  to  the  baptism  of  his 
son,  and  to  the  early  death  of  his  "  incompara- 
bly loving,"  amiable,  and  pious  wife, — a  passage 
which  many  a  baptized  child  may  read  with  tears. 
"  On  the  seventh  of  February,  God  gave  thee 
the  ordinance  of  baptism,  whereby  God  is  be- 
come thy  God,  and  is  beforehand  with  thee,  that 
whenever  thou  shalt  return  to  God,  he  will  un- 
doubtedly receive  thee  ;  tHis  is  a  most  high  and 
happy  privilege,  and  therefore  bless  God  for  it. 
And  now,  after  this  had  been  done,  thy  dear 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.    187 

mother  died  in  the  Lord,  departing  out  of  this 
world  to  another,  who  did  lose  her  life  by  being 
careful  to  preserve  thine  ;  for  in  the  ship  thou 
wert  so  feeble  and  froward  both  in  the  day  and 
night,  that  hereby  she  lost  her  strength  and  at 
last  her  life.  She  hath  made  also  many  a 
prayer  and  shed  many  a  tear  for  thee  ;  and  this 
hath  been  oft  her  request  that  if  the  Lord  did 
not  intend  to  glorify  himself  by  thee,  that  he 
would  cut  thee  off  by  death  rather  than  to  live 
to  dishonor  him  by  sin.  And  therefore  know 
it,  that  if  thou  shalt  turn  rebel  against  God,  and 
forsake  him,  and  care  not  for  the  knowledge  of 
him,  nor  believe  in  his  Son,  the  Lord  will  make 
all  these  mercies,  woes  ;  and  all  thy  mother's 
prayers,  tears,  and  death,  to  be  a  swift  witness 
against  thee  at  the  great  day."* 

The  child  to  whom  this  affecting  appeal  was 
made,  was  afterwards  brought  very  low  by  a 
humor  which  filled  his  mouth,  lips,  and  cheeks 
with  blisters,  so  that  it  was  difficult  for  him  to 
take  sufficient  nourishment  to  sustain  life. 
When  the  humor  left  his  mouth  it  seized  upon 
his  eyes  ;  and  in  a  short  time  he  became  quite 
blind,  "  with  pearls  upon  both  eyes  and  a  white 
film,  insomuch  that  it  was  a  dreadful  sight  unto 
all   the   beholders   of  him,   and   very  pitiful." 

*  Introduction  to  Autobiographhy. 


188   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPABD. 

None  but  a  father  can  realize  the  distress  which 
Mr.  Shepard  felt  at  the  prospect  that  his  only 
son  was  to  be  blind  through  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  But  he  was  mercifully  spared  this 
severe  affliction.  When  he  had  become  con- 
vinced that  he  must  have  "  a  blind  child  to  be  a 
constant  sorrow  to  him  till  his  death,"  and  was 
made  contented  to  "  bear  the  indignation  of  the 
Lord  because  he  had  sinned,"  resolving  now  to 
"  fear  nor  grieve  no  more,  but  to  be  thankful, 
nay  to  love  the  Lord, — suddenly  and  strangely, 
by  the  use  of  a  poor  weak  means,  namely,  the 
oil  of  white  paper,"  the  child  was  restored  to 
sight  again,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  father,  who 
regarded  the  cure  as  a  gracious  answer  to  his 
earnest  prayers.  The  manner  in  which  Mr. 
Shepard  used  this  event  to  awaken  the  gratitude 
of  his  child,  when  in  after  years  he  should  learn 
how  wonderfully  he  had  been  preserved  from 
one  of  the  greatest  temporal  calamities,  is  wor- 
thy of  remembrance.  "  Now  consider,  my  son, 
and  remember  to  lift  up  thine  eyes  to  heaven, 
to  God,  in  everlasting  praises  of  him,  and 
dependence  upon  him ;  and  take  heed  thou  dost 
not  make  thine  eyes  windows  of  lust,  but  give 
thine  eyes,  nay  thy  heart  and  whole  soul  and 
body  to  him  that  hath  been  so  careful  of  thee 
when  thou  couldst  not  care  for  thyself." 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD.    1S9 

These  domestic  afflictions  were  soon  followed 
by  trials  of  another  sort,  which,  to  a  minister  of 
Christ  so  deeply  interested  in  the  prosperity  of 
the  church  as  Mr.  Shepard  was,  were  perhaps 
more  difficult  to  be  borne  with  patience,  and 
called  for  a  larger  measure  of  grace.  He  found 
that  the  people  of  God  are  exposed  to  "  perils  in 
the  wilderness,"  as  well  as  in  the  crowded 
thoroughfares  of  the  world ;  and  that  Christ 
may  be  as  deeply  wounded  in  the  house  of  his 
friends,  as  among  the  armies  of  the  aliens.  The 
church  at  Newtown  had  been  organized  but  a 
short  time,  and  had  but  just  begun  to  enjoy  the 
liberty  and  the  rest  for  which  so  many  sacrifices 
had  been  made,  when  the  peace  of  all  the 
churches  in  the  colony,  was  violently  disturbed 
by  the  opinions  and  practices  of  the  Antinomi- 
ans,  which  were  first  promulgated  in  this  part 
of  the  world  by  Mrs.  Hutchinson.  As  Mr.  Shep- 
ard bore  a  distinguished  part  in  that  controversy, 
and  exerted  no  small  influence  in  bringing  it  to 
a  triumphant  conclusion,  a  few  words  respecting 
its  origin  and  effects  may  here  be  expected. 

Mr.  Hutchinson,  who  had  been  an  intimate 
friend  and  a  great  admirer  of  Mr.  Cotton  in 
England,  came  to  Boston  in  company  with 
Henry  Vane,  in  1633.     His  wife  was  a  woman 


190   LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARS. 

of  a  masculine  understanding,  and  of  fiery  zeal 
in  religion.  Mr.  Cotton,  whom  she  held  in  the 
highest  estimation  and  respect,  said  of  her,  at  an 
early  period  of  her  residence  here,  that  "  she 
was  well -beloved,"  and  that  "  all  the  faithful  em- 
braced her  conference,  and  blessed  God  for  her 
fruitful  discourses," — a  commendation,  which, 
if  she  ever  deserved,  she  soon  forfeited  by  her 
gross  heresies  in  doctrine  and  in  practice.  At 
Boston  she  was  treated  with  great  respect,  not 
only  by  Mr.  Cotton,  but  by  other  distinguished 
persons,  among  whom  was  Mr.  Vane,  who  in 
1636  was  chosen  governor  of  the  colony,  in  the 
room  of  Winthrop.  It  was  natural  that  the 
high  consideration  in  which  she  was  held  by 
the  leading  men  in  the  church  and  state,  should 
awaken  her  vanity  and  give  her  great  influ- 
ence with  the  people.  In  imitation  of  the  breth- 
ren of  the  church  of  Boston,  who  held  weekly 
meetings  for  religious  conference,  she  soon 
established  a  meeting  of  women  at  her  house, 
in  obedience,  as  she  pretended,  to  the  apostoli- 
cal precept  that  "  the  aged  women  should  be 
teachers  of  good  things  ; "  and  especially  that 
they  should  •*  teach  the  young  women  to  be  so- 
ber." The  novelty  of  this  proceeding  among  the 
Puritans,  who,  in  obedience  to  another  apostol- 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    191 

ical  injunction,  never  suffered  "  a  woman  to  speak 
in  the  church,"  together  with  the  reputation  of 
the  innovator,  soon  collected  an  audience  of  sixty 
or  eighty  women  at  her  house  every  week,  to 
hear  her  prayers,  her  exhortations,  and  her  ex- 
planations,— seldom  probably  correct, — of  Mr. 
Cotton's  sermons. 

In  these  meetings,  held  professedly  for  the 
purpose  of  promoting  the  edification  of  the 
younger  women,  but  designed  to  diffuse  a  new 
light  among  the  men  also,  Mrs.  Hutchinson  was 
not  long  satisfied  to  be  the  humble  expositor  of 
Mr.  Cotton's  doctrines,  but  soon  ventured  to 
broach  some  opinions  of  her  own,  which,  how- 
ever, she  pretended  to  confirm  by  an  unfair  and 
fraudulent  use  of  Mr.  Cotton's  authority.  The 
fundamental  position  which  she  assumed,  and 
maintained  with  a  fierce  enthusiasm,  was  that  a 
Christian  should  not  look  to  any  Christian 
graces,  or  to  any  conditional  promises  made  to 
faith  or  sanctification,  as  evidence  of  God's 
special  grace  and  love  towards  him, — this  being 
a  way  of  works ;  but,  without  the  appearance 
of  any  grace,  faith,  holiness,  or  change  in  him- 
self, must  rest  upon  an  absolute  promise  made 
in  an  immediate  revelation  to  his  soul.  In  con- 
nection with  this  doctrine,  and  as  the  legitimate 


192   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.* 

results  of  it,  she  taught  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
dwells  personally  in  a  justified  person;  that  the 
command  to  work  out  our  salvation  with  fear 
and  trembling,  is  addressed  to  none  but  such 
as  are  under  the  covenant  of  works;  that 
personal  holiness  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a 
sign  of  a  justified  state ;  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  inherent  righteousness  ;  that  immedi- 
ate revelations  respecting  future  events  are  to 
be  expected  by  believers,  and  should  be  received 
as  equally  authoritative  and  infallible  with  the 
Scriptures  ;  together  with  many  other  absurd 
and  foolish  notions,  which,  it  would  seem,  that 
none  but  persons  extremely  ignorant  or  partially 
insane,  could  possibly  believe. 

That  Mrs.  Hutchinson  received  these  opinions 
from  Mr.  Cotton,  as  she  and  her  followers  pre- 
tended, is  not  credible.  It  is  true  that  Mr.  Cot- 
ton at  one  time  entertained  a  too  favorable  opin- 
ion of  the  piety  and  talents  of  this  enthusiastic 
innovator ;  and  for  awhile  bore  no  decided 
testimony  against  the  errors  that  were  dividing 
and  distracting  the  church.  The  consequence 
was  that  he  was  claimed  by  both  parties  in  this 
controversy  ;  the  Antinomians  declaring  that 
their  doctrines  were  legitimate  inferences  from 
his  preaching,  and  had  his  sanction, — the  ortho- 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.    193 

doxonthe  other  hand,  affirming  that  he  adhered 
to  the  common  faith,  and  disavowed  their  hereti- 
cal sentiments.  This  state  of  the  public  mind 
called  for  an  open  and  explicit  declaration  of 
his  sentiments,  which,  as  soon  as  he  fully  under- 
stood the  use  made  of  his  authority  by  the  Anti- 
nomians,  he  made,  to  the  satisfaction  of  his 
brethren,  and  to  the  dismay  and  discomfiture  of 
the  heretics.  He  at  once,  as  is  usual  in  such 
cases,  became  the  object  of  the  hatred  and  re- 
proaches of  the  party  which  he  had  seemed, — 
and  only  seemed, — to  favor.  They  called  him 
a  coward,  who  dared  not  avow  his  real  princi- 
ples ;  a  double-minded  man,  who  taught  one 
thing  in  the  pulpit,  and  another  in  private  con 
ference  ;  a  blind  guide,  who  had  lost  all  insight 
into  the  spirit  of  the  gospel ;  and  so  bitter,  and 
at  the  same  time  so  vulgar  was  the  hatred  with 
which  they  persecuted  the  good  man,  that  one 
of  the  party  sent  him  a  pound  of  candles,  with 
the  impudent  intimation  that  he  was  in  "  great 
need  of  light." 

It  has  been  sometimes  said,  in  later  times, 
that  this  Antinomian  controversy  was  a  strife, — 
a  mere  jargon  of  words  while  the  parties  were 
really  of  one  mind  respecting  justification  and 
sanctification.  But  a  careful  examination  will 
show  that  it  was  a  strife  between  two  different 

VOL.  IV.  17 


194    LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

and  opposite  gospels,  and  exhibited  totally  dif- 
ferent grounds  of  hope  to  sinners.  The  Anti- 
nomians  were  heretics  of  the  worst  and  most 
dangerous  sort.  By  their  mode  of  advancing 
free  grace,  says  Shepard,  they  denied  and 
destroyed  all  evidence  of  inherent  grace  in  us ; 
by  crying  up  Christ,  they  destroyed  the  use 
of  faith  to  apply  to  him  ;  by  advancing  the 
spirit  and  revelations  by  the  spirit,  they  de- 
stroyed or  weakened  the  revelation  by  the  Script- 
ures ;  by  depending  on  Christ's  righteous- 
ness and  justification  without  the  works  of  the 
law,  they  destroyed  the  use  of  the  law,  and 
made  it  no  rule  of  life  to  a  Christian  ;  by  im- 
agining an  evidence  by  justification,  they  de- 
stroyed all  evidence  by  effectual  vocation  and 
sanctification.  Their  opinions  were  "  mere  fig 
leaves  to  cover  some  distempers  and  lusts  lurk- 
ing in  men's  hearts;"  and  hence  it  was  that 
after  they  regarded  themselves  as  once  sealed, 
and  consequently  in  Christ,  and  had  received 
the  witness,  they  never  doubted,  though  they 
fell  into  the  foulest  and  most  scandalous  sins  ; 
and  to  renew  their  repentance,  they  spoke  of  is 
a  sign  of  great  weakness.* 

Absurd,  licentious,  and  destructive  as  these 


*  N«w  England's  Linientaiiona  for  Old  England's  Errora,  p.  4. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    195 

opinions  were,  they  spread  among  the  people 
with  astonishing  rapidity ;  and  wherever  they 
took  root  they  produced  the  bitter  fruits  of 
alienation,  hatred,  and  slander.  The  converts 
to  the  new  opinions  were,  as  Shepard  justly 
called  them,  "  the  scourges  of  the  land,  and  the 
most  subtle  enemies  of  the  power  of  godliness." 
By  their  clamor  "  the  ancient  and  received  truths 
came  to  be  darkened,  God's  name  to  be  blas- 
phemed, the  churches  glory  diminished,  many 
godly  persons  grieved,  many  wretches  harden- 
ed, deceiving  and  being  deceived,  growing  worse 
and  worse."  They  labored  to  destroy  the  repu- 
tation of  all  those  ministers  who  held  the  com- 
monly received  doctrines,  stigmatizing  them  as 
legal  preachers  who  were  under  a  covenant  of 
works, — who  never  knew  Christ  themselves, — 
and  who  could  not  be  the  instruments  of  bringing 
men  into  the  light  and  liberty  of  the  gospel. 
They  encouraged  ignorant  men  and  women  to 
become  preachers,  and  applauded  their  minis- 
trations as  more  effectual  than  that  of  any  of  the 
*'  black  coats," — as  they  contemptuously  styled 
the  regular  ministers, — who  had  been  at  the 
<'  Ninneversity."  They  opposed  the  marching  of 
the  troops  that  had  been  raised  to  assist  the 
people  of  Connecticut  against  the  Pequods,  upon 


196   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

the  ground  that  the  officers  and  soldiers  were 
too  much  under  a  covenant  of  works. 

In  an  incredibly  short  time,  this  fanatical 
spirit  divided  not  only  the  church  of  Boston,  but 
a  large  number  of  the  churches  of  Massachusetts 
and  Plymouth.  The  people  became  disaffected 
towards  the  ministers,  and  prejudiced  against 
all  their  public  and  private  instruction.  Many 
who  had  been  converted,  apparently  by  the  in- 
strumentality of  these  ministers  in  England, — 
who  had  followed  them  into  this  wilderness  to 
sit  under  their  ministrations, — who  had  been, 
like  the  Galatians,  ready  to  pluck  out  their  own 
eyes,  and  give  them  to  their  pastors, — now  for- 
sook their  parish  churches,  and  greedily  listened 
to  the  ravings  of  insanity  or  ignorance.  Some 
of  the  leading  men  in  the  colony,  among  whom 
were  Vane,  Coddington,  and  others,  took  sides 
with  these  disturbers  of  the  peace.  Fami- 
lies, as  well  as  churches,  were  divided  and 
alienated.  It  became  common,  says  Winthrop, 
to  distinguish  men  by  being  under  a  covenant  of 
grace  or  a  covenant  of  works,  as  in  other  coun- 
tries, between  protestants  and  papists.  The  mis- 
chief spread  into  all  associations,  civil  as  well 
as  religious,  "  insomuch  that  the  greater  part  of 
this  new  transported  people  stood  still,  many  of 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.    197 

them  gazing  one  upon  another,  like  sheep  let 
loose  to  feed  on  fresh  pasture,  being  stopped  and 
startled  in  their  course  by  a  kennel  of  devouring 
wolves.  The  weaker  sort  wavered  much,  and 
such  as  were  grown  Christians  hardly  durst  dis- 
cover the  truth  they  held  one  unto  another. 
The  fogs  of  error  increasing,  the  bright  beams 
of  the  glorious  gospel  of  our  Lord  Christ  in  the 
mouth  of  his  ministers,  could  not  be  discerned 
through  the  thick  mists  by  many;  and  that 
sweet,  refreshing  warmth  that  was  formerly  felt 
from  the  Spirit's  influence,  was  now  turned,  in 
these  errorists,  to  a  hot  inflammation  of  their  own 
conceited  revelations,  ulcerating,  and  bringing 
little  less  than  frenzy  or  madness  to  the  pa- 
tient." ^ 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  excitement  and  con- 
fusion, Mr.  Shepard  continued  steadfast  in  the 
faith ;  and  through  his  vigilance,  faithfulness, 
and  discriminating  ministry,  the  church  of 
Newtown  was  preserved  from  the  least  taint  of 
this  heresy.  He  had  been  somewhat  familiar 
with  the  doctrines  and  spirit  of  the  Antinomians 
in  his  younger  days  in  England,  and  he  had 
sufficient  "  light  to  see  through  these  devices  of 


*  Wonder-working  Providence,  p.  100. 

17* 


198   LIFE     OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

men's  heads,"  which  many  of  his  brethren,  able 
as  they  were,  wanted ;  and  though  it  was  a  sad 
disappointment  to  him  to  be  called  so  soon  into 
the  heat  of  controversy,  and  "  a  most  uncom- 
fortable time  to  live  in  contention"  with  those 
who  professed  to  be  disciples  of  Christ,  yet  it 
was  a  duty  he  could  not  shun ;  and  he  had  the 
satisfaction  and  the  honor  of  being  a  principal 
instrument  in  bringing  this  unhappy  excitement 
to  an  end. 

One  of  the  means  by  which  he  destroyed  the 
influence  of  the  heretics  in  his  own  congrega- 
tion, was  the  delivery  of  that  admirable  course  of 
Sermons  upon  the  Parable  of  the  Ten  Virgins, 
which,  after  his  death,  were  published  by  his  son 
Thomas,  assisted  by  his  successor,  Mr.  Mitchel. 
They  were  commenced  in  1636,  when  the  leaven 
of  Familism  or  Antinomianism  was  most  pow- 
erfully at  work  among  the  people,  and  finished 
in  1640,  when  it  was  mostly  purged  away ;  and 
were  designed  to  refute  the  impudent  heresy  of 
that  time,  and  establish  the  assaulted  truth. 
They  constitute  the  largest,  and,  in  some  respects, 
the  most  valuable  of  his  works,  and  are  emi- 
nently adapted  to  expose  all  false  religion,  while 
real  Christians  will  find  in  them  abundant  in- 
struction and  encouragement.  In  the  celebrated 
•'  Treatise  on   the  Religious  Afiections,"  Pres- 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.    199 

ident  Edwards  makes  a  freer  use  of  this  book 
than  of  any  other.  His  whole  work  is  pervaded 
by  its  spirit,  and  he  acknowledges,  by  nearly  a 
hundred  quotations,  his  obligations  to  Mr.  Shep- 
ard  for  some  of  his  profoundest  thoughts.  He 
rendered  another  important  service  to  the  colony 
during  that  stormy  season,  by  his  Election  Ser- 
mon. 

By  the  help  of  the  pious  Johnson,  we  obtain 
a  glimpse  of  Mr.  Shepard  in  the  pulpit,  as 
well  as  of  his  mode  of  handling  this  knotty 
subject.  In  the  course  of  this  "  dismal  year 
of  1636,"  a  pious  man,  who  like  many  others, 
had  left  his  native  land  to  enjoy  the  liberty  of 
the  gospel  here,  arrived  in  New  England,  ex- 
pecting to  find  the  wilderness  blossoming  as  the 
rose  under  the  labors  of  the  able  ministers  who 
had  preceded  him ;  but,  to  his  amazement,  he 
found  the  whole  country  in  a  state  of  confusion, 
and  was  at  once  addressed  in  a  new  theological 
language  which  was  entirely  unintelligible  to 
him.  "  Take  here,"  says  Johnson,  in  his  rude, 
quaint  manner,  referring  to  this  man,  "  the  sor- 
rowful complaint  of  a  poor  soul  in  miss  of  its 
expectation  at  landing,  who  being  encountered 
with  some  of  these  errorists  at  his  first  landing, 
when  he  saw  that  good  old  way  of  Christ  re- 
jected by  them,  and  he  could  not  skill  in  that 


200lIFE      of     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

I 

new  light  which  was  the  common  theme  of 
every  man's  discourse,  he  betook  him  to  a  nar- 
row Indian  path,  in  which  his  serious  medita- 
tions soon  led  him  where  none  but  senseless 
trees  and  echoing  rocks  make  answer  to  his 
heart-easing  moan.  '  Oh,*  quoth  he,  '  where  am 
I  become  ?  Is  this  the  place  where  those  rever- 
end preachers  are  fled,  that  Christ  was  pleased 
to  make  use  of  to  rouse  up  his  rich  graces  in 
many  a  drooping  soul  ?  Here  have  I  met  with 
some  that  tell  me  I  must  take  a  naked  Christ. 
Oh,  woe  is  me  ;  if  Christ  be  naked  to  me  where- 
with shall  I  be  clothed  ?  But  methinks  I  most 
wonder  they  tell  me  of  casting  off  all  godly  sor- 
row for  sin  as  unbeseeming  a  soul  that  is  united 
to  Christ  by  faith.  And  there  was  a  little 
nimble-tongued  woman  among  them,  who  said 
she  could  bring  me  acquainted  with  one  of  her 
own  sex  that  would  show  me  a  way,  if  I  could 
attain  it,  even  revelations,  full  of  such  ravishing 
joy,  that  I  should  never  have  cause  to  be  sorry 
for  sin,  so  long  as  I  live,  and,  as  for  her  part, 
she  had  attained  it  already.  '  A  company  of 
legal  professors,'  quoth  she,  '  lie  poring  on  the 
law  which  Christ  hath  abolished,  and  when  you 
break  it,  then  you  break  your  joy,  and  now  no 
way  will  serve  your  turn  but  a  deep  sorrow.' 
These,   and  divers  other  expressions,   intimate 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      S  H  E  P  A  R  D  .    201 

unto  me  that  here  I  shall  find  little  increase  in 
the  graces  of  Christ,  through  the  hearing  of  his 
word  preached,  and  other  of  his  blessed  ordi- 
nances. O  cunning  devil,  the  Lord  Christ 
rebuke  thee,  that,  under  the  pretence  of  a  free 
and  ample  gospel,  shuts  out  the  soul  from  par- 
taking with  the  divine  nature  of  Christ,  in  that 
mystical  union  of  his  blessed  Spirit,  creating  and 
continuing  his  graces  in  the  soul.  My  dear 
Christ,  it  was  thy  work  that  moved  me  hither 
to  come,  hoping  to  find  thy  powerful  presence  in 
the  preaching  of  the  word,  although  adminis- 
tered by  sorry  men,  subject  to  like  infirmities 
with  others  of  God's  people ;  and  also  by  the 
glass  of  the  law,  to  have  my  sinful,  corrupt  na- 
ture discovered  daily  more  and  more,  and  my 
utter  inability  to  any  thing  that  is  good,  magni- 
fying hereby  the  free  grace  of  Christ,  who  of 
his  good  will  and  pleasure  worketh  in  us  to  will 
and  to  do,  working  all  our  works  in  us,  and  for 
us.  But  here  they  tell  me  of  a  naked  Christ. 
What  is  the  whole  life  of  a  Christian,  but 
through  the  power  of  Christ,  to  die  to  sin  and  to 
live  to  holiness  and  righteousness,  and  to  that 
end  to  be  diligent  in  the  use  of  means.' 

"  At  the  uttering  of  this  word  he  starts  up 
from  the  green  bed  of  his  complaint,  with  reso- 
lution to  hear  some  one  of  these  able  ministers 


202   LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

preach,  whom  report  had  so  highly  valued,  be- 
fore his  will  should  make  choice  of  any  one 
principle.  Then,  turning  his  face  to  the  sun,  he 
steered  his  course  toward  the  next  town ;  and, 
after  some  small  travel,  he  came  to  a  large  plain. 
No  sooner  was  he  entered  thereon,  but  hearing 
the  sound  of  a  drum,  he  was  directed  toward  it 
by  a  broad  beaten  way.  Following  this  road,  he 
demands  of  the  next  man  he  met,  what  the  sig- 
nal of  the  drum  meant.  The  reply  was  made, 
they  had  as  yet  no  bell  to  call  men  to  meeting, 
and  therefore  made  use  of  a  drum.  '  Who  is  it,' 
quoth  he,  '  lectures  at  this  town?'  The  other 
replies,  '  I  see  you  are  a  stranger,  new  come 
over,  seeing  you  know  not  the  man :  it  is  one 
Mr.  Shepard.'  '  Verily',  quoth  the  other,  *  you 
have  hit  the  right.  I  am  new  come  over,  in- 
deed, and  have  been  told  since  I  came,  that 
most  of  your  ministers  are  legal  preachers; 
only,  if  I  mistake  not,  they  told  me  this  man 
preached  a  finer  covenant  of  works  than  the 
others.  But,  however,  I  shall  make  what  haste 
I  can  to  hear  him.  Fare  you  well.'  Then 
hastening  thither,  he  crowdeth  through  the 
thickest,  where  having  stayed  while  the  glass 
was  turned  up  twice,  the  man  was  metamor- 
phosed ;  and  was  fain  to  hang  down  the  head 
often,  lest  his  watery  eyes  should  blab  abroad 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.    203 

the  secret  conjunction  of  his  affections,  his  heart 
crying  loud  to  his  Lord's  echoing  answer,  to  his 
blessed  Spirit,  that  caused  the  speech  of  a  poor, 
weak,  pale-complexioned  man,  to  take  such  im- 
pression in  his  soul  at  present,  by  applying  the 
word  so  aptly,  as  if  he  had  been  his  privy  coun- 
cillor ;  clearing  Christ's  work  of  grace  in  the 
soul  from  all  those  false  doctrines  which  the 
erroneous  party  had  affrighted  him  withal ;  and 
he  resolves, — the  Lord  willing, — to  live  and  die 
with  the  ministers  of  New  England,  whom  he 
now  saw  the  Lord  had  not  only  made  zealous 
to  stand  for  the  truth  of  his  discipline,  but  also 
for  the  doctrine,  and  not  to  give  ground  one 
inch."=^ 

The  Antinomian  excitement  reached  its  great- 
est height  towards  the  close  of  the  year  1636, 
and  the  beginning  of  1637.  Though  defeated 
at  the  annual  election  in  their  attempt  to  con- 
tinue Vane, — the  head  oi  their  party, — in  the 
office  of  Governor,  the  Antinomians  were  pow- 
erful enough  to  menace  the  safety  of  the  State 
as  well  as  of  the  churches.  They  were  every 
where  bold,  impudent,  and  restless.  When 
they  were  complained  of  in  the  civil  courts  for 
misdemeanors,  or  summoned  before  the  church 


*  Wonder-working  Providence,  pp.  100,  104. 


204   LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

for  question  or  censure,  they  had  many  respect- 
able and  influential  persons  to  defend  them, 
and  to  protest  against  any  sentence,  civil  or  ec- 
clesiastical, which  might  be  passed  against 
them;  and  when  they  were  condemned,  there 
were  enough  to  raise  a  mutiny  against  the  gov- 
ernment on  their  behalf.  Great  efforts  were 
made,  both  by  magistrates  and  ministers,  to  heal 
this  plague  in  the  church.  Innumerable  ser- 
mons were  preached  against  the  erroneous  doc- 
trines. Conferences  were  held  with  the  leaders 
of  the  fanatics,  sometimes  privately  before  the 
elders,  sometimes  publicly  before  the  whole  con- 
gregation, where  they  had  liberty  to  say  all  that 
could  be  said  in  defence^of  their  sentiments,  and 
were  heard  with  great  patience.  Every  thing 
which  individual  influence  could  do,  was  done 
to  root  out  these  pestilent  opinions,  and  to  re- 
store peace  to  the  distracted  colony. 

At  length,  when  all  hope  of  removing  this 
evil  by  the  usual  means  was  given  up,  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  in  consultation  with  the  ministers, 
determined  to  call  a  synod  of  all  the  churches  in 
New  England,  for  the  purpose  of  settling  this 
controversy,  agreeably  to  the  example  of  the 
primitive  church,  referred  to  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles.  Three  things  were  judged  expedient 
as  a  necessary  preparation  for  this  great  meas- 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    205 

ure.  A  general  fast  to  seek  the  Divine  Pres- 
ence with  the  synod ; — a  collection  of  all  the 
erroneous  opinions,  amounting  to  above  eighty, 
which  it  might  be  necessary  to  discuss  ; — and  a 
friendly  conference  with  Mr.  Cotton,  respecting 
any  expressions  of  his  which  might  have  seemed 
to  give  countenance  to  the  errors  that  were 
troubling  the  country. 

These  preparatory  steps  having  been  taken, 
the  proposed  synod  was  convened  at  Newtown, 
August  30th,  1637.  That  Mr.  Shepard  was  a 
prominent  agent  in  procuring  this  synod,  and  a 
very  influential  member  of  it,  is  evident  from 
many  circumstances,  particularly  from  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Hooker,  in  April  preceding,  addressed 
to  him  a  letter  dissuading  him  from  using  his 
influence  in  its  behalf.  "  Your  general  synod," 
says  Mr.  Hooker,  "I  cannot  yet  see  either  how 
reasonable  or  how  salutary  it  will  be  for  your 
turn,  for  the  settling  and  establishing  the  truth 
in  that  honorable  way  as  were  to  be  desired. 
My  ground  is  this  :  they  will  be  chief  agents 
in  the  synod  who  are  chief  parties  in  the  cause, 
and  for  them  only,  who  are  prejudiced  in  the 
controversy,  to  pass  sentence  against  cause  or 
person, — how  improper  !  How  unprofitable  ! 
My  present  thoughts  ran  thus  :  That  such  con- 
clusions which  are  most  extra,  most  erroneous, 

VOL.  IV.  18 


206    LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

and  cross  to  the  common  current,  send  them 
over  to  the  godly  learned  to  judge  in  our  own 
country,  and  return  their  apprehensions.  I  sup- 
pose the  issue  will  be  more  uncontrollable.  If  any 
should  suggest  this  was  the  way  to  make  the 
clamor  too  great  and  loud,  and  to  bring  a  preju- 
dice upon  the  Plantations,  I  should  soon  answer, 
there  is  nothing  done  in  corners  here  but  it  is 
openly  there  related;  and  in  such  notorious 
cases,  which  cannot  be  kept  secret,  the  most 
plain  and  naked  relation  ever  causeth  the  truth 
most  to  appear,  and  prevents  all  groundless  and 
needless  jealousies,  whereby  men  are  apt  to 
make  things  more  and  worse  than  they  are."* 
We  have  no  letter  of  Mr.  Shepard  in  reply  to 
this :  but  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  he  did  answer 
these  arguments  against  the  propriety  of  deter- 
mining the  disputed  points  by  a  synod,  and  it 
was  his  answer,  probably,  that  changed  Mr. 
Hooker's  thoughts  in  relation  to  this  matter. 
However  that  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  the  Con- 
necticut pastor  afterwards  took  a  different  view 
of  the  subject,  and  judged  it  expedient  to  attend 
the  s]mod,  and  to  take  a  leading  part  in  all  its 
proceedings. 

The  synod,  consisting  of  all  the  ministers  and 


*  HutchiDson'*  Hist.  Maw.  roL  1. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    207 

messengers  of  the  New  England  churches, 
together  with  a  few  who  had  recently  arrived 
but  were  yet  unsettled,  was  organized  by  the 
choice  of  Mr.  Hooker,  and  Mr.  Buckley,  joint 
moderators.  The  first  session  was  opened  by 
Mr.  Shepard  with  one  of  his  "  heavenly 
prayers."  After  the  organization  of  the  synod, 
the  erroneous  opinions  which  had  been  spread 
through  the  country,  some  of  them,  as  Cotton 
declared,  blasphemous,  some  incongruous,  and 
all  unsafe,  together  with  the  texts  of  Scripture 
"which  had  been  perverted  in  support  of  them, 
and  certain  "unsavoury  speeches,"  that  had 
been  used  in  the  heat  of  dispute,  were  read  and 
fully  discussed, — and  finally  unanimously  con- 
demned. The  synod  continued  in  session  about 
a  month,  and  all  the  Antinomians,  who  desired 
it,  had  liberty  to  be  present,  and  freedom  of 
speech,  restrained  only  by  the  laws  of  order  and 
decency.  There  was,  says  Shepard,  "  a  most 
wonderful  presence  of  Christ's  spirit  in  that  as- 
sembly," and  the  general  result  of  its  delibera- 
tions was,  that  through  the  grace  and  power  of 
Christ,  the  pernicious  errors  which  had  well 
nigh  brought  the  church  to  desolation,  "  were 
discovered, — the  defenders  of  them  convinced 
and  ashamed, — the  truth  established, — and  the 
consciences  of  the  saints  settled."     The  pub- 


208   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEFARD. 

lie  condemnation  of  these  errors,  and  the  testi- 
mony of  the  synod  against  them,  were  subscribed 
by  nearly  all  the  ministers  and  messengers  pres- 
ent; but  some,  among  whom  was  Mr.  Cotton, 
while  they  reprobated  the  leading  doctrines  of 
the  Antinomians,  and  all  the  monstrous  inferen- 
ces from  them,  as  sincerely  and  as  deeply  as 
any  members  of  the  synod,  declined  subscribing 
the  Result,  because  subscription  was  a  word  of 
ill  omen  among  the  Puritans.  The  doings  of 
the  synod,  sustained  by  the  zealous  cooperation 
of  the  ministers  and  the  uninfected  portion  of 
the  churches,  finally  resulted  in  the  restoration 
of  sound  doctrine  and  of  good  order  among  the 
people.  All  the  churches  accepted  the  result, 
and  generally  with  entire  unanimity,  with  the 
exception  of  the  church  in  Boston.  Mr.  Wheel- 
right  and  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  the  leaders  of  the 
Antinomian  party,  together  with  a  few  of  their 
followers,  after  civil  and  ecclesiastical  process, 
were  excommunicated,  banished,  or  at  least 
forced  from  the  colony,  (Mr.  Vane  having  pre- 
viously returned  to  England),  not  for  their  errors 
of  opinion  alone,  but  on  account  of  the  disorgan- 
izing and  destructive  influence  which  the  public 
maintenance  of  those  errors  exerted  upon  the 
peace  and  welfare  of  the  community.  Many  of 
the  ignorant  and  enthusiastic  people,  who  had 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.    209 

been  misled  by  the  appearance  of  eminent  piety  in 
their  new  guides, — when  those  who  had  seduced 
them  into  error  were  gone, — returned  penitently 
to  the  churches  and  the  ministry  which  they 
had  abandoned,  and  were  received  by  their 
brethren  into  renewed  fellowship,  with  joy  and 
gratitude  to  God  for  his  healing  mercy ;  and 
Mr.  Wheelwright  himself,  after  seven  years  of 
banishment,  publicly  confessed  and  renounced 
his  errors,  and  was  restored  to  his  former  stand- 
ing in  church  and  state  which  he  enjoyed  for 
nearly  forty  years,  with  the  reputation  of  a 
humble  and  worthy  minister  of  Christ,  Thus 
terminated  the  first  great  temptation  of  our  fa- 
thers in  the  wilderness ;  an  event,  which 
through  the  ignorance  of  some,  and  the  perverse 
spirit  of  others,  has  been  frequently  spoken  of  to 
the  reproach,  not  of  the  guilty  tempters,  but  of 
those  wise  and  holy  men,  who  by  the  word  of 
God  and  prayer  affectually  resisted  the  evil,  and 
preserved  the  churches  from  one  of  the  worst 
and  most  destructive  forms  of  errors.  "  And  so 
the  Lord,"  says  Shepard,  "  within  one  year, 
wrought  a  great  change  among  us,  having  deliv- 
ered the  country  from  war  with  the  Indians  and 
Familists,  who  rose  and  fell  together." 

18* 


210   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SUEPARD, 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Mr.  Shopard's  vigilance  with  respect  lo  iho  manner  of  organizing 
churches.  Gatheringof  the  church  at  Dorchester.  Letter  to  Rich- 
ard Mather.  Interest  in  education.  Commencement  of  Harvard 
College.  Why  the  college  was  placed  at  Newtown.  Diflicully  with 
Mr.  Eaton.  Marries  Joatina  Hiioker.  Death  of  Mr.  Harlukenden. 
Mr.  Shepard's  work  interrupted  by  sickness.  Letter  of  Mr.  Bulk- 
ley.    How  employed  at  this  time. 

While  Mr.  Shepard  was  thus  watchful  over  the 
interests  of  his  own  flock,  and  zealous  in  the 
public  vindication  of  the  true  doctrines  of  grace 
against  the  abominable  errors  of  the  Antinomi- 
ans,  his  advice  and  assistance  were  often  sought 
in  the  organization  of  new  churches  in  the  colo- 
ny ;  and  in  such  cases,  as  a  wise  master  builder, 
he  was  careful  to  see  that  the  materials  with 
which  he  built  were  of  the  right  kind,  and  that 
they  were  securely  placed  upon  the  "  foundation 
of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  him- 
self being  the  chief  corner-stone."  One  instance 
will  serve  as  a  specimen  of  his  wisdom  and 
fidelity  in  this  respect.  In  the  early  part  of  this 
"  dismal  year  "  of  1636,  while  a  multitude  of 
"  chaffy  hypocrites,"  and  ignorant  fanatics  were 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD.    211 

thronging  into  the  country,  and  many  of  the 
churches  were  suffering  under  the  deadly  influ- 
ence of  unsound  members,  he  was  called  to  at- 
tend a  council  for  the  organization  of  the  second 
church  in  Dorchester,  a  great  part,  if  not  the 
whole  of  the  first,  having  removed  to  Connecti- 
cut. 

The  confession  of  faith,  laid  before  the  coun- 
cil by  Mr.  Mather,  was  found  to  be  orthodox  and 
satisfactory  ;  but  when  the  persons,  who  were 
to  constitute  the  church,  came  to  relate  their  ex- 
perience, the  elders  refused  to  organize  them,  on 
the  ground  that  they  were  "  not  meet,  at  pres- 
ent, to  be  the  foundation  of  a  church."  Many 
of  them  built  their  hope  upon  "  dreams  and 
ravishes  of  the  spirit  by  fits ;"  or  upon  mere 
"  external  reformation  ;"  or  "upon  their  duties 
and  performances ;"  wherein  they  discovered 
"  three  special  errors  :  1,  That  they  had  not  came 
to  hate  sin  because  it  was  filthy,  but  only  left  it 
because  it  was  hurtful.  2,  That  they  had  never 
truly  closed  with  Christ,  or  rather  Christ  with 
them,  but  had  made  use  of  him  only  to  help  the 
imperfection  of  their  sanctification  and  duties, 
and  had  not  made  him  their  wisdom,  righteous- 
ness, sanctification  and  redemption.  3,  That 
they  expected  to  believe  by  some  power  of  their 


212   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPAHD. 

own,  and  not  only  and  wholly  from  Christ."* 
Mr.  Shepard,  whose  experience  of  God's  work 
of  grace  in  the  heart,  was  widely  different  from 
this,  deeming  their  evidences  unscriptural  and 
delusive,  successfully  opposed  their  organization 
into  a  church  at  that  time.  After  his  return 
home  he  wrote  the  following  letter  to  Mr.  Ma- 
ther, vindicating  the  course  which  he  pursued 
at  the  council,  and  exhibiting  his  views  respect- 
ing the  materials  of  which  churches  should  be 
formed.  It  is  a  letter  which  is  not  without  deep 
significance  and  interest  at  the  present  day, 
when  the  same  errors  of  experience  are  common, 
and  many  churches  have  a  far  greater  propor- 
tion of  wood,  hay,  and  stubble,  than  of  gold  and 
precious  stones,  in  their  composition. 

"  Dear  Brother, — 

As  it  was  a  sad  thing  to  us  to  defer  the 
uniting  of  your  people  together,  so  it  would  add 
affliction  to  my  sorrow,  if  that  yourself,  (whom 
the  Lord  hath  abundantly  qualified  and  fitted  for 
himself)  and  church,  and  people,  should  take  to 
heart  too  much  so  solemn  a  demur  and  stop  to 
the  proceedings  of  those  that  were  to  be  united 
to  you.     For  what  would  this  be  but  a  privy 


*  Wiathrop'fl  Journal,  I.  184. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    213 

quarreling  with  the  wise  providence  of  our  God, 
who  knows  what  physic  is  best  to  be  given,  and 
a  grieving  indeed  for  that  good  hand  of  God,  in 
which  we  ought  abundantly  to  rejoice  :  for  I  am 
confident  of  it  that  there  is  nothing  in  this  cup 
so  bitter,  but  by  waiting  awhile,  yourself  and 
people  will  find  such  sweetness  in  the  bottom  and 
conclusion  of  it,  as  shall  make  you  and  them  a 
double  amends. 

"  David  had  a  great  desire  to  build  the  tem- 
ple, and  he  was  content  with  the  sad  message 
of  the  prophet,  he  must  not  do  it,  his  son  should. 
It  was  quite  honor  enough  unto  him  to  provide 
stuflT  for  it.  I  persuade  myself  the  Lord  intends 
to  do  more  for  you,  and  by  you,  in  the  place 
where  the  Lord  hath  set  you,  and  that  he  will 
honor  you  with  a  more  glorious  service  than 
that  of  Solomon  ;  to  build  him  a  temple,  not  of 
stones,  but  of  saints  elect  and  precious.  Yet 
you  know  how  many  years  Solomon  waited  be- 
fore the  temple  came  to  be  erected. 

"All  the  stones  of  it  were  hewn  and  ham- 
mered out  in  Mount  Lebanon,  so  that  no  axe  or 
hammer  was  heard  knocking  while  the  temple 
was  a  building.  1  Kings  6:7.  O  let  not  a  lit- 
tle waiting  be  sad  or  grievous  to  you,  while 
your  people  are  preparing  themselves,  or  the 
Lord,  rather,  is  preparing  them,  to  be  built  on 


214   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPAED. 

the  foundation-stone  ;  that  when  you  meet  again 
together,  there  may  not  be  any  hammer  heard, 
any  doubt  made,  any  pause  occasioned,  by  any 
neglect  of  them  in  not  seeking  to  gather  their 
evidences  better,  both  to  quiet  their  own  souls 
before  the  Lord,  and  to  satisfy  the  consciences 
of  other  men. 

"As  for  myself,  I  was  very  loth  to  speak,  but 
I  thought, — and  I  have  found  it  since, — that  1 
should  neither  be  accounted  faithful  to  the 
church  that  sent  me,  neither  should  I  manifest 
the  tenderness  of  the  good  of  your  people,  if  I 
had  not  spoken  what  I  did.  I  did  confess,  and 
do  confess  still,  that  although  there  were  divers 
weaknesses  in  most,  which  I  did  and  do  willing- 
ly with  a  spirit  of  love,  cover  and  pass  by,  as 
knowing  what  I  am  myself,  yet  there  were  three 
of  them,  chiefly,  that  I  was  not  satisfied  scarce 
in  any  measure  with  their  profession  of  faith. 
Not  but  that  I  do  believe  upon  your  own  trial  of 
them, — which  I  persuade  myself  will  not  be 
slighty  in  laying  a  foundation, — but  that  they 
might  have  grace,  yet  because  we  came  not  here 
to  find  gracious  hearts,  but  to  see  them  too. 
'Ti3  not  faith,  but  a  visible  faith,  that  must 
make  a  visible  church,  and  be  the  foundation  of 
visible  communion ;  which  faith  I  say,  be- 
cause my  weakness  could  not  see  in  some  of 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.    215 

them  by  their  profession,  I  therefore  spake 
what  I  did  with  respect  to  yourself  and  tender- 
ness also  to  them,  that  so  they  might  either 
express  themselves  more  fully  for  satisfaction  of 
the  churches, — which  I  did  chiefly  desire, — 
or  if  there  were  not  time  for  this,  that  they  might 
defer  till  another  time,  which  you  see  was  the 
general  vote  of  all  the  churches.  Which  course, 
I  have  thought,  and  do  think,  hath  this  three- 
fold good  wrapt  up  in  it. 

"  1.  That  if  your  people,  then  doubtful  to  us, 
be  indeed  sincere,  this  might  make  them  more 
humble,  and  make  them  search  themselves  more 
narrow^ly,  and  make  them  cast  away  all  their 
blurred  evidences,  and  get  fairer  and  show  bet- 
ter, and  so  find  more  peace,  and  keep  more  close 
to  God  than  ever  before.  And  on  the  contrary, 
if  they  be  unsound,  that  this  might  be  a  means 
to  discover  them ;  for  either  you  will  find  them 
proud,  passionate,  and  discontented  at  this, — 
which  I  believe  is  far  from  all  of  them, — or  else 
you  will  see  that  this  doth  little  good,  and  works 
little  upon  them ;  which  unto  my  own  self 
would  be  a  shrewd  evidence  of  little  or  no  grace, 
if  the  majesty  and  presence  of  God  in  so  many 
churches  so  ready  to  receive  you,  should  work 
no  more  awe  nor  sad  laying  to  heart  such  a  sen- 
tence as  this  hath  been.     For  believe  it,  brother. 


216    LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

we  have  been  generally  mistaken  in  most  men 
and  in  great  professors  ;  these  times  have  late- 
ly shown,  and  this  place  hath  discovered  more 
false  hearts  than  ever  we  saw  before.  And  it 
will  be  your  comfort  to  be  very  wary  and  very 
sharp  in  looking  to  the  hearts  and  spirits  of 
those  you  sign  yourself  unto,  especially  at  first, 
lest  you  meet  with  those  sad  breaches  which 
other  churches  have  had,  and  all  by  want  of 
care  and  skill  to  pick  forth  fit  stones  for  so  glori- 
ous a  foundation  as  posterity  to  come  may  build 
upon  and  bless  the  Lord. 

"  2.  By  this  means  others  will  not  be  too  for- 
ward to  set  upon  this  work,  who,  after  sad 
trial,  will  be  found  utterly  unfit  for  it.  For  it  is 
not  a  work  for  all  professors,  nor  for  all  godly 
men,  to  lay  a  foundation  for  a  church,  for  many 
godly  men  may  have  some  odd  distempers  that 
may  make  for  the  ruin  of  the  building,  therefore 
not  fit  for  a  foundation ;  many  godly  men  are 
weak,  and  simple,  and  unable  to  discern,  and  so 
may  easily  receive  in  such  as  may  afterward 
ruin  them,  hence  unfit  to  lay  a  foundation.  Not 
that  I  judge  thus  of  your  people.  I  dare  not 
think  so  ;  but  if  those  that  be  fit,  have  been  thus 
stopped  in  their  way,  how  will  this  make  others 
to  tremble  and  fear  in  attempting  this  work,  less 
able  than  yourselves. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.    217 

"  3.  By  this  means,  I  believe  and  hope,  that 
the  communion  of  saints  will  be  set  at  a  higher 
price,  when  it  is  seen  that  it  is  not  an  honor 
that  the  Lord  will  always  put  on  nor  bestow  and 
give  away  unto  his  own  people.  I  do  therefore 
entreat  you  in  the  Lord,  that  you  would  not 
hang  down  your  head,  but  rejoice  at  this  good 
providence  of  the  Lord,  which  will  abound  so 
much  to  his  praise  and  your  future  peace. 
Neither  let  it  discourage  you,  nor  any  of  your 
brethren,  to  go  on  in  the  work  for  after  times  ; 
but  having  looked  over  their  own  evidences  a 
little  better,  and  humbled  their  souls  for  this, 
and  thirsting  the  more  after  the  Lord  in  his 
temple  and  ordinances,  while  with  David  they 
are  deprived  for  a  season  of  them ;  that  hereaf- 
ter you  would  come  forth  again,  (it  may  be 
some  of  your  virgins  have  been  sleeping,  and 
this  may  awaken  them,)  with  your  lamps 
trimmed,  your  lamps  burning,  your  wedding 
garments  on  to  meet  the  bridegroom.  And  if 
others  will  fall  and  sleep  again,  and  not  get  their 
oil  when  they  have  had  this  warning,  what  do 
they  do  but  discover  themselves  to  be  but  foolish 
ones,  who,  though  they  knock  hereafter,  and 
cry  Lord,  Lord,  it  may  be  Christ  nor  his  spouse 
will  ever  let  them  in. 

"  Thus  with  my  unfeigned  love  to  all  your 

VOL.  IV.  19 


218   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

brethren,  whom  I  honor  and  tender  in  the  Lord, 
with  my  poor  prayers  for  you  and  them  that  in 
his  time  he  would  unite  and  bring  you  together, 
I  rest,  in  great  haste. 

Your  brother  in  Christ, 

Thomas   Shepard.*" 
From  Newtown,  (Cambridge) 
April  2,  1636." 

The  answer  of  Mr.  Mather  to  this  faithful  and 
truly  apostolical  letter,  was  worthy  of  a  Puritan 
and  a  Christian.  Instead  of  that  self-sufficient 
and  insubordinate  spirit  with  which  adverse  de- 
cisions of  councils  are  now  frequently  met  by 
ministers  and  churches,  Mr.  Mather  acknowl- 
edges the  justness  of  the  rebuke, — cordially 
submits  to  the  authority  of  the  council, — and 
expresses  the  deepest  gratitude  for  the  faithful- 
ness of  his  brethren.  "As  for  what  you  spake 
that  day,"  he  says  to  Mr.  Shepard,  "  I  bless  the 
Lord  for  it.  I  am  so  far  from  any  hard  thoughts 
towards  you  for  the  same,  that  you  have  by 
your  free  and  faithful  dealing  that  day,  endeared 
yourself  in  my  esteem  more  than  ever,  though 
you  were  always  much  honored  and  very  dear 
to  me.  And  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord 
for  ever  that  put  it  into  your  hearts  and  mouths, 
all  of  you,  to  express  yourselves  as  you  did ;  for 

♦  Transcribed  from  the  Original  MSS.  in  Vhe  Mass.  Hi»t.  Soc.,  by 
R«v.  N.  Adams. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.    219 

we  now  see  our  unworthiness  of  such  a  privi- 
lege as  church  communion  is,  and  our  unfitness 
for  such  a  work  as  to  enter  into  covenant  with 

Himself,  and  to  be  accepted  of  his  people 

If  the  counterfeiting  Gibeonites  were  made  hew- 
ers of  wood  and  drawers  of  water,  because  they 
beguiled  Israel  to  enter  into  league  and  covenant 
with  them,  when  they  were  not  the  men  that 
they  seemed  to  be,  it  is  as  much  as  we  are  wor- 
thy of,  that  we  may  be  hewers  of  wood,  &c.,  for 
the  churches  here,  because  we  attempted  a 
league  and  covenant  with  the  churches,  and 
were  not  worthy  of  such  a  matter,  nor  meet  to  be 
covenanted  with,  though, — blessed  be  the  Lord 
for  it, — the  heads  of  the  congregation  of  the 
Lord's  Israel  here,  were  not  so  hasty  and  rash 
and  credulous  as  they  were  in  the  days  of  Joshua. 

But  you  will  say.  Why,  then,   did  you 

present  yourself  with  the  people  before  the  Lord 
and  the  churches  ?  I  will  tell  you  the  truth 
therein.  They  pressed  me  into  it  with  much 
importunity,  and  so  did  others  also,  till  I  was 
ashamed  to  deny  any  longer,  and  laid  it  on  me 
as  a  thing  to  which  I  was  bound  in  conscience 
to  assent  to  ;  because  if  I  yielded  not  to  join, 
there  would  be, — said  they, — no  church  at  all  in 
this  place,  and  so  a  tribe,  as  it  were,  should  per- 
ish out  of  Israel,  and  all  through  my  default. 


220   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

This  kind  of  arguing,  meeting  that  inward  vain- 
glory, which  I  spake  of  before,  was  it  that  drew 
me  forward,  and  prevailed  against  the  conscious- 
ness of  my  own  insufficiency,  and  against  that 
timorousness  that  I  sometimes  found*  in  my- 
self. ...  It  was  pride  that  induced  me  to  yield  to 
their  importunity,  because  I  was  desirous  to  have 
the  praise  and  glory  of  being  tractable  and  easy 
when  entreated,  and  not  to  be  noted  for  a  stub- 
born and  of  a  stilfT spirit But  why,  then, 

did  we  bring  stones  so  unhammered  and  un- 
hfewn, — evidences  of  faith  no  fairer,  &c.?  In 
this,  sir,  you  lay  your  finger  upon  our  sore  di- 
rectly ;  neither  can  we  here  put  in  any  other 
plea  but  guilty.  The  good  Lord  pardon,  saith 
Hezekiah,  every  one  that  prepareth  his  heart  to 
seek  God,  though  he  be  not  cleansed  according 
to  the  purification  of  the  sanctuary.  Let  us  beg 
the  help  of  your  prayers  for  pardon  herein,  as 
Hezekiah  did  pardon  for  that  people,  and  for 
more  grace  and  care  that  if  we  ever  come  forth 
again  for  the  same  purpose, — which,  for  my 
part,  I  am  much  afraid  to  do, — we  may  not  come 
to  the  dishonor  of  God,  and  grief  of  his  saints, 
as  at  the  last  time  we  did.  The  Lord  render 
you  a  rich  and  plentiful  reward  for  your  love  and 
faithfulness." 

"  T*  my  dear  friend  and  loving  brother,  Mr.  Thomas  Sbepard,  at 
Newtown." 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    221 

Nothing  can  be  more  beautiful  than  the  tem- 
per exhibited  in  these  letters.  We  hardly  know 
which  to  admire  most,  the  Christian  faithfulness 
and  love  of  the  pastor  of  Cambridge,  or  the 
meekness,  humility,  and  thankfulness  for  re- 
proof, expressed  by  the  pious  minister  of  Dor- 
chester. "Let  the  righteous  smite  me;"  says 
the  Psalmist,  "  it  shall  be  a  kindness  ;  and  le* 
him  reprove  me ;  it  shall  be  an  excellent  oil 
which  shall  not  break  my  head  ;  for  yet  ■  my 
prayer  also  shall  be  in  their  calamities."  Mr. 
Shepard,  upon  receiving  Mr.  Mather's  reply, 
must  have  felt  as  Paul  did  when  he  witnessed 
the  effect  of  his  Epistle  upon  the  Corinthians. 
"  Though  I  make  you  sorry  with  a  letter,  I  do 
not  repent,  though  I  did  repent ;  for  I  perceive 
that  the  same  epistle  hath  made  you  sorry, 
though  it  were  but  for  a  season.  .  .  .  For  ye 
were  made  sorry  after  a  godly  manner,  that  ye 
might  receive  damage  by  us  in  nothing."  It  is 
necessary  only  to  add,  that  the  people  of  Dor- 
chester, humbled  and  instructed  by  the  opinion 
and  faithful  dealing  of  the  council,  "  came  forth 
again,"  in  the  month  of  August  following,  for 
the  purpose  of  being  organized  into  a  church, 
not  now  "  to  the  dishonor  of  God,"  or  "to  the 
grief  of  his  saints,"  but  with  the  approbation  and 
sanction  of  their  scrupulous  brethren,  and  to  the 


222   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPAED. 

glory  of  the  Redeemer.  Mf.  Mather  was  im- 
mediately ordained  pastor  of  the  church,  and 
continued  to  preside  over  it  with  distinguished 
ability  and  success,  until  his  death  in  1669,  in 
the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age. 

But  Mr.  Shepard  did  not  confine  his  care  and 
labors  to  the  churches.  Among  the  institutions 
which  he  regarded  as  of  preeminent  importance, 
and  which  it  was  his  earnest  desire  to  see  estab- 
lished in  the  colony,  was  a  College  to  be,  as  he 
expresses  it,  "  a  nursery  of  knowledge  in  these 
deserts,  and  a  supply  for  posterity."  The  great 
object  of  our  Fathers  in  coming  to  this  country, 
was  not  merely  to  escape  fines  and  imprison- 
ment for  non-conformity.  They  wished,  it  is  true, 
for  liberty  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates 
of  their  own  consciences,  and  they  shrunk  with 
a  natural  dread  from  the  severe  penalties  of 
laws  which  they  could  not  obey  without  sin ; 
but  they  had  a  nobler  object  than  personal  safety. 
They  had  conceived  the  idea  of  a  Christian 
commonwealth,  widely  different  in  its  form  and 
principles,  from  any  that  then  existed  in  the 
world,  and  this  idea  they  began  to  realise  as 
soon  as  they  set  foot  upon  these  shores.  Be- 
sides, therefore,  the  instruction  which  their  chil- 
dren received  at  the  fireside,  and  in  the  primary 
schoob,  they  wanted  an  institution  for  the  edu- 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD.    223 

cation  and  training  of  young  men  for  the  learned 
professions,  and  especially  for  the  Christian  min- 
istry, without  which  all  their  labor  and  sacrifices 
would  be  in  vain.  The  important  stations  occu- 
pied by  the  able  and  learned  founders  of  the 
church  and  state,  would  soon  be  vacant;  and 
even  if  a  sufficient  number  of  scholars  could  be 
procured  from  the  parent  country  to  fill  them, 
yet  those  who  were  educated  abroad,  under  an 
entirely  different  religious  and  political  constitu- 
tion, could  not  be  so  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  grounds  of  the  civil  and  religious  institutions, 
nor  so  much  attached  to  the  interests  of  the 
colony,  as  children  who  were  born  and  educated 
here.  As  soon,  therefore,  says  one  of  the  early 
settlers,  as  "  God  had  carried  us  safely  to  New 
England,  and  we  had  builded  our  houses,  pro- 
vided necessaries  for  our  own  livelihood,  reared 
convenient  places  for  God's  worship,  and  settled 
the  civil  government,  one  of  the  next  things  we 
longed  for  and  looked  after,  was  to  advance 
learning  and  to  perpetuate  it  to  posterity  ;  dread- 
ing to  leave  an  illiterate  ministry  to  the  churches, 
when  our  present  ministers  shall  lie  in  the 
dust."=^ 

The  plan  of  founding  a  College  in  Massachu- 


*  New  England's  First  Fruits,  p.  12, 


Lift     Of    ^rfdtfir  %tfJlPAED. 


setts,  was  brought  before  the  General  Court  at 
its  session  at  Newtown  in  September,  1636.  It 
was  then  resolved  that  such  an  institution  should 
be  immediately  commenced,  and  the  sum  of  four 
hundred  pounds  was  immediately  appropriated 
as  the  beginning  of  a  fund  for  its  endowment; — 
a  grant,  which,  inadequate  as  it  confessedly  was, 
yet  considering  the  poverty  of  the  colony,  and  the 
distractions  produced  by  the  "  war  with  the  In- 
dians and  the  Familists  "  which  was  then  rag- 
ing, must  be  regarded  as  very  liberal. 

The  place  selected  for  the  college  was  New- 
town, which,  in  honor  of  the  University  where 
most  of  the  early  New  England  Fathers  were 
educated,  was  thenceforth  called  Cambridge.  For 
this  choice  of  Newtown  as  the  seat  of  the  new 
University,  there  were  two  weighty  reasons. 
One  was,  that  through  the  influence  of  Mr. 
Shepard,  under  God,  the  congregation  in  this 
place  had  been  preserved  from  the  contagion  of 
Antinomianism,  which  was  then  threatening  the 
utter  dissolution  of  the  Boston  church,  and  had 
begun  to  contaminate  many  other  churches  in 
the  colony.  The  other  is  thus  staled  by  John- 
son ;  "  To  make  the  whole  world  understand 
that  spiritual  learning  was  the  thing  they  chiefly 
desired,  to  sanctify  the  other,  and  make  the 
whole  lump  holy,  and  that  learning,  being  set 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    225 

upon  its  right  object,  might  not  contend  for  error 
instead  of  truth,  they  chose  this  place,  being 
then  under  the  orthodox,  and  soul-flourishing 
ministry  of  Mr.  Thomas  Shepard ;  of  whom  it 
may  be  said,  without  any  wrong  to  others,  the 
Lord  by  his  ministry  hath  saved  many  a  hun- 
dred souls. "^ 

The  fund  created  by  the  grant  of  the  General 
Court,  was  in  1639  enlarged  by  the  donation  of 
between  seven  and  eight  hundred  pounds  from 
John  Harvard  of  Charlestown, — being  half  of  his 
estate, — together  with  the  whole  of  his  library  of 
two  hundred  and  sixty  volumes ;  and  in  honor  of 
him,  as  the  chief  benefactor,  the  institution  was 
named  Harvard  College. t  Nathaniel  Eaton, 
brother  of  Theophilus  Eaton  of  New  Haven,  was 
the  first  instructor  in  this  infant  seminary.  He  was 
intrusted  with  the  management  of  the  funds,  as 
well  as  with  the  instruction  of  the  students.  The 
funds  he  squandered,  and  towards  his  pupils  he 
manifested  a  disposition  at  once  cruel  and  mean. 
For  his  abusive  treatment  of  his  usher,  Mr. 
Briscoe,  and  for  some  other  sins  as  great, 
though  not  so  notorious,  he  was  dismissed  from 
office, — fined  twenty  pounds  for  the  satisfaction 
of  Briscoe, — excommunicated  by  the  church  of 


*  Wonder- Working  Providence,  IG-l. 
t  Winthrop'g  Journal,  11.81,  342. 


226    LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

Cambridge, — and  finally  compelled  to  leave  the 
colony.*  In  this  unhappy  and  disgraceful  af- 
fair, Mr.  Shepard,  at  first,  innocently  enough 
took  the  wrong  side.  Eaton  professed,  "  emi- 
nently, yet  falsely  and  most  deceitfully  "  to  be  a 
Christian ;  and  the  good  pastor  of  Cambridge, 
who  knew  no  guile,  was  for  a  long  time  igno- 
rant of  his  great  wickedness.  On  one  occasion 
he  beat  poor  Briscoe  with  "  a  walnut-tree  plant, 
big  enough  to  have  killed  a  horse,"  until  the 
whole  neighborhood  was  alarmed  by  the  cry  of 
murder.  Mr.  Shepard  rushing  into  the  house 
at  the  outcry,  and  seeing  Briscoe  with  his  knife 
in  his  hand,  took  it  for  granted  that  the  usher, 
and  not  the  master,  was  to  blame,  and  immedi- 
ately complained  of  him  to  the  Governor,  "  for 
his  insolent  speeches,  and  for  crying  out  mur- 
der, and  drawing  his  knife  ;  demanding  that  he 
should  be  required  to  make  a  public  acknowl- 
edgment of  his  violence.  And  when  Eaton, 
after  much  labor  with  him  in  private,  had  re- 
luctantly confessed  his  guilt,  Mr.  Shepard  and 
several  of  the  elders,  "  came  into  court,  and  de- 
clared how,  the  evening  before,  they  had  taken 
pains  with  him  to  convince  him  of  his  faults," — 
that  he  had  "  freely  and  fully  acknowledged 
his  sin," — that  they  "  hoped  he  had  truly  re- 

*  Winlhrop'i  Journal,  I.  308. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    227 

pented,'' — and  therefore  *'  desired  of  the  Court 
that  he  might  be  pardoned  and  continued  in  his 
employment ;  alleging  such  further  reasons  as 
they  thought  fit."*  But  Mr.  Shepard  was  not 
long  deceived  in  respect  to  Eaton's  real  charac- 
ter. He  soon  saw  things  in  their  true  light,  and 
cordially  assented  to  the  sentence  by  which  the 
hypocrite  was  expelled  from  office,  and  cut  off 
from  the  fellowship  of  the  church  ;  mourning 
deeply  over  this  great  scandal  to  the  cause  of 
truth,  and  especially  lamenting  his  own  "  igno- 
rance, and  want  of  wisdom,  and  watchfulness  " 
in  relation  to  the  guilty  man.  Eaton  fled 
from  the  colony;  and  afterwards  sent  for  his 
wife  and  children  to  come  to  him  in  Virgin- 
ia. Her  friends  in  Cambridge  urged  her  to 
delay  the  voyage  for  awhile,  but  she  resolved 
to  go,  and  the  vessel  in  wliich  she  sailed  was 
never  heard  of  afterwards.!  This  disaster 
deeply  affected  Mr.  Shepard;  and  though  he 
was  in  no  sense  chargeable  with  the  sad  fate 
x)f  this  unhappy  family,  he  called  himself  to 
account  as  if  he  were  in  some  measure  guilty 
of  their  blood.  In  his  diary,  under  date  of 
June  3,  1640,  he  says  ;  "  When  tidings  came 
to  me  of  the  casting  away  of  Mrs.  Eaton  I  did 

*  Winlhrop'8  Journal,  I.  311. 
t  Winlhrop'3  Journal,  II.  22. 


228l1FE      of      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

learn  this  lesson ;  whenever  any  affliction  came, 
not  to  rub  up  my  former,  old,  true  humiliation, 
but  to  be  more  humbled  ;  for  I  saw  I  was  very 
apt  to  do  the  first.  And  I  blessed  God  for  the 
light  of  this  truth." 

Mr.  Shepard's  first  wife,  who  had  shared 
with  him  the  dangers  of  persecution  in  Eng- 
land, and  the  hardships  of  his  flight  to  the  asy- 
lum which  had  been  providentially  prepared  for 
him  in  this  country ,  died,  as  has  been  already 
stated,  in  February,  1636 ;  and  his  son  Thomas, 
then  about  ten  months  old,  was  placed  under  the 
care  of  a  Mrs.  Hopkins,  who  was  probably  one 
of  the  company  that  came  over  with  them.  For 
a  season,  therefore,  while  he  was  engaged  in 
these  public  labors,  amidst  the  distracting  con- 
troversies, and  other  evils  which,  as  a  leading 
man  in  the  colony  he  could  not  avoid,  his 
own  house  was  left  unto  him  desolate  ;  and  he 
was  obliged  to  encounter  afflictions  abroad,  with- 
out those  comforts  of  home  to  which  he  had 
been  accustomed  in  his  former  trials,  and  which 
his  usually  feeble  health  rendered  necessary. 

It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  he  should  think 
of  another  connection,  and  endeavor  to  rekindle 
the  fire  upon  his  own  hearth.  "  A  prudent  wife, 
the  sacred  writer  tells  us, "  is  from  the  Lord;"  and 
Mr.  Shephard  soon  obtained  this  great  blessing. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      8HEPARD.    229 

In  the  month  of  October,  1637,  he  married 
Joanna,  the  eldest  daughter  of  his  early  friend 
and  counselor,  Mr.  Hooker,  with  whom  he 
had  been  long  acquainted,  and  whose  extraor- 
dinary fitness  for  the  station  she  was  required  to 
fill,  he  fully  understood.  This  connection  proved 
to  be  eminently  suitable ;  and  all  the  expecta- 
tions which  he  and  his  friends  had  formed 
respecting  her  as  a  wife,  as  a  mother,  and  as  a 
helper  in  the  great  work  which  was  at  that  time 
tasking  and  exhausting  his  energies,  were  much 
more  than  realized. 

The  year  after  his  marriage,  he  suffered  a 
great  loss  in  the  death  of  his  early  and  devoted 
friend,  Roger  Harlakenden.  The  family  of 
Harlakenden,  as  the  reader  will  remember,  had 
been  the  protectors  and  supporters  of  Mr.  Shep- 
ard,  when,  in  England,  he  was  hunted  from 
place  to  place  by  the  pursuivants,  and  obliged  to 
hide  himself  from  the  wrath  of  the  bishops. 
The  two  brothers,  Richard  and  Roger,  having 
been  converted  under  his  preaching,  were  ever 
among  his  warmest  friends  ;  and  Roger,  unwill- 
ing to  be  separated  from  the  powerful  and 
"  soul-flourishing  ministry"  which  had  been  so 
highly  blessed  to  his  soul,  came  and  settled  v/ith 
his  pastor  in  Cambridge.  Mr.  Shepard  calls 
him  a  "  most  dear  friend,  and  precious  servant 

VOL.      IV.  20 


230lIFE      of      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

of  Jesus  Christ."  He  was  of  such  reputation 
in  the  colony  that  he  was  three  times  chosen 
assistant ;  and  his  influence  must  have  been  of 
the  greatest  service  to  the  church  and  its  minis- 
ter. He  died  of  small  pox,  November  17,  1638, 
being  only  twenty-seven  years  of  age.  "  He 
was,"  says  Winthrop,  "  a  very  godly  man,  and  of 
good  use  both  in  the  Commonweahh  and  in  the 
church.  He  was  buried  with  military  honors, 
because  he  was  lieutenant  colonel.  He  left  be- 
hind a  virtuous  gentlewoman  and  two  daughters. 
He  died  in  great  peace,  and  left  a  sweet  memo- 
rial behind  him  of  his  piety  and  virtue."  * 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Harlakenden,  Mr. 
Shepard  himself  was  brought  to  the  borders  of 
the  grave  by  a  disease,  which  was  probably 
brought  on  by  over  exertion,  hardship,  and  grief. 
The  manner  in  which  he  himself  speaks  of  it 
leads  us  to  this  conclusion.  "  I  fell  sick,"  he 
says,  "  after  Mr.  Harlakenden's  death,  my  most 
dear  friend,  and  most  precious  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  when  I  was  very  low,  and  my 
blood  much  corrupted,  the  Lord  revived  me ; 
and  after  that  took  pleasure  in  me,  to  bless  my 
labors,  so  that  I  was  not  altogether  useless  nor 
fruitless."     That   his  sickness,  whatever  might 


♦  Winihrop's  Journal,  I,  2~«. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  231 

have  been  its  nature,  was  so  severe  as  to  bring 
death  very  near,  apparently,  not  only  to  his  own, 
mind,  but  also  to  awaken  painful  apprehensions 
in  the  public  mind  respecting  his  danger  is  evi- 
dent from  a  letter  addressed  to  him  by  Mn 
Bulkley,  one  of  the  moderators  of  the  late  Synod, 
soon  after  his  recovery. 

Dear  Sir: 

I  hear  the  Lord  hath  so  far  strength- 
ened you,  as  that  you  were  the  last  Lord's  day 
at  the  Assembly,  The  Lord  go  on  with  the 
^  work  of  his  goodness  towards  you.  Being  that 
now  the  Lord  hath  enabled  you  thus  far,  I  de- 
sire a  word  or  two  from  you,  what  you  judge 
concerning  the  Teachers  in  a  congregation, 
whether  the  administration  of  discipline  and 
sacraments  do  equally  belong  unto  them  w^ith 
the  Pastor ;  and  whether  he  ought  therein 
equally  to  interest  himself.  I  would  also  desire 
you  to  add  a  word  more  concerning  this, — 
viz ;  what  you  mean  by  the  execution  of  disci- 
pline, when  you  distinguish  it  from  the  power. 
We  have  had  speech  sometimes  concerning  the 
church's  power  in  matters  of  discipline,  wherein 
you  seemed  to  put  the  power  itself  into  the 
hands  of  the  church,  but  to  reserve  the  execution 
to  the  Eldership.     I  would  see  what  you  com- 


232lIFE      of     THOMAS     SHEFASD. 

prehend  under  the  word  execution.  I  would 
gladly  hear  how  the  common  affairs  of  the 
church  stand  with  you.  I  am  here  shut  up,  and 
do  neither  see  nor  hear.  Write  me  what  you 
know.  Let  me  also  know  how  Mr.  Phillips 
doth  incline,  whether  towards  you,  or  other- 
wise ;  and  what  way  Mr.  Rogers  is  like  to  turn, 
whether  to  stay  in  these  parts,  or  to  go  unto 
Connecticut.  I  wrote  to  you  not  long  ago  ad- 
vising you  to  consider  quid  valent  huvieri ;  1 
know  not  whether  you  answered  that  letter. 
The  Lord  in  mercy  bless  all  your  labors  to  his 
church's  good.  Remember  my  love  to  Mrs. 
Shepard,  with  Mrs.  Harlakenden. 
Grace  be  with  you  all. 

Yours  in  Christ  Jesus. 
P.  BULKLEY.  * 
Feb.  12,  1638. 

From  this  letter,  it  is  evident,  not  only  that 
Mr.  Shepard's  illness  had  been  such  as  to  inter- 
rupt his  public  labors,  and  excite  some  degree  of 
alarm  among  his  friends  ;  but  also,  incidentally, 
that  his  labors  in  the  pulpit,  and  with  the  pen, 
were  so  great  as  perhaps  to  retard  his  complete 
recovery,  and  to  render  necessary  some  fraternal 


*  Hutchinaon's  MSS.  Papers,  Vol.  I.,  in  Mbm.  Hist.  Soc.  Library. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      S  H  E  P  A  R  D  .  233 

advice  that  he  should  spare  himself  a  little. 
"  I  wrote  you  not  long  ago, — advising  you  to 
consider,  quid  valent  humeri" — what  your 
shoulders  are  able  to  bear ;  a  caution  which  he 
seems  not  to  have  laid  to  heart,  for  he  continued 
to  labor  beyond  his  strength,  and  to  take  upon 
his  shoulders  a  weight  which  they  were  not  able 
to  sustain.  His  laborious  preparation  for  preach- 
ing, and  his  public  labors  for  the  good  of  the 
churches  and  the  prosperity  of  the  common- 
wealth, were  probably  the  burden  which  Mr. 
Bulkley  feared  he  would  not  be  able  to  bear. 

As  to  those  points  of  ecclesiastical  order  upon 
which  Mr.  Bulkley  asks  for  information,  no 
reply  from  Mr.  Shepard  has  been  preserved; 
but  his  opinions  in  relation  to  them  are  fully  ex- 
pressed in  his  published  works.  What  they 
were  will  be  seen  when  we  come  to  speak  of  the 
services  which  Mr.  Shepard  rendered  in  settling 
the  principles  upon  which  the  early  congrega- 
tional churches  were  organized. 


20* 


234   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD 


CHAPTER    X. 

Mr.  Staepard  on  the  point  of  reraoying  to  Matabeseck.  Cause  of  his 
embarraBsments.  Letter  from  Mr.  Hooker.  State  of  Mr.  Shep- 
ard'a  mind  during  this  season.  ExtractsJrom  his  Diary.  Diffi- 
culty  removed.  Birth  of  children.  Samuel  Shepard.  Letters 
from  Mr.  Hooker. 

In  the  year  1640,  Mr.  Shepard,  in  addition  to 
his  other  afflictions,  was  plunged  into  almost 
inextricable  embarrassment  with  respect  to  his 
affairs,  which  had  well  nigh  compelled  him 
to  remove  to  some  other  plantation,  or  to 
return  to  England.  This  embarrassment  was 
occasioned  by  the  depressed  state  of  the  col- 
onists with  respect  to  the  means  of  meeting 
their  pecuniary  obligations.  The  influx  of 
settlers  had  ceased  in  consequence  of  the 
change  of  affairs  in  England ;  and  this  sud- 
den check  to  immigration  had  an  immediate 
effect  upon  the  price  of  cattle,  &c.  While 
the  inhabitants  continued  to  multiply,  a  far- 
mer, who  could  spare  but  one  cow  in  a  year 
out  of  his  stock,  used  to  clothe  his  family  with 
the  price  of  it  at  the  expense  of  the  new  comers ; 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.    235 

when  this  failed,  they  were  put  to  great  difficul- 
ties. *  Some  of  the  colonists,  in  the  prospect  of 
a  thorough  reformation  in  England,  began  to 
think  of  returning  to  their  native  land.  "  Others, 
despairing  of  any  more  supply  from  thence,  and 
yet  not  knowing  how  to  live  there,  if  they  should 
return,  bent  their  minds  wholly  to  removal  to 
the  south  parts,  supposing  they  should  find  better 
means  of  subsistence  there,  and  for  this  end  put 
off  their  estates  here  at  very  low  rates.  These 
things,  together  with  the  scarcity  of  money, 
caused  a  sudden  and  very  great  abatement  of  the 
prices  of  all  our  commodities.  Corn  was  sold  ordi- 
narily at  three  shillings  the  bushel,  a  good  cow  at 
seven  or  eight  pounds,  and  some  at  five,  and  other 
things  answerable,  whereby  it  came  to  pass  that 
men  could  not  pay  their  debts,  for  no  money  nor 
beaver  were  to  be  had ;  and  he  who  last  year, 
or  but  three  months  before,  was  worth  £1,000, 
could  not  now,  if  he  should  sell  his  whole  es- 
tate, raise  £200,  whereby  God  "  taught  us  the 
vanity  of  all  outward  things  !"  .  .  .  "  The  scarcity 
of  money  made  a  great  change  in  all  commerce. 
Merchants  would  sell  no  wares  but  for  ready 
money.  Men  could  not  pay  their  debts,  though 
they  had  enough.     Prices  of  cattle  fell  soon  to 


*  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Mass.,  I,  92. 


236   LIFE     OF     THOMAS      SHEPAED. 

the  one-half  and  less,  yea  to  a  third,  and  after,  to 
one  fourth  part."  *  For  the  relief  of  the  people, 
at  this  season  of  unexpected  trial,  the  court,  in 
October,  1640,  ordered  that,  for  all  new  debts, 
corn  should  be  a  legal  tender ;  Indian  corn  to  be 
received  at  4s.,  summer  wheat  at  6s.,  rye  and 
barley  at  5s.,  and  pease  at  6s.  per  bushel ;  and 
that  upon  all  executions  for  old  debts,  the  officer 
should  take  land,  houses,  corn,  cattle,  fish,  or 
other  commodities,  and  deliver  the  same  in  full 
satisfaction  to  the  creditor  at  such  prices  as 
should  be  fixed  by  three  intelligent  and  indiffer- 
ent men,  to  be  chosen,  one  by  the  creditor, 
another  by  the  debtor,  and  the  third  by  the  mar- 
shal; the  creditor  being  at  liberty  to  make 
choice  of  any  goods  in  the  possession  of  the 
debtor,  and  if  there  were  not  sufficient  goods  to 
discharge  the  debt,  then  he  might  take  house  or 
land,  t 

What  the  exact  amount  of  Mr.  Shepard's 
nominal  salary  was  at  this  time,  is  not  known ; 
but  from  the  report  of  a  committee,  appointed  a 
few  years  later  to  make  inquiries  in  relation  to 
the  maintenance  of  ministers  in  the  vicinity  of 
Cambridge,  a  tolerably  accurate   idea  may  be 


*  Wlnthrop'8  Journal  11.  21,  18. 

t  Wiothrop'*  Journal,   IL  7.     Fell'*  MMsacbiuwlU'  Cumuty, 
p.  23. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPAED.  237 

formed  as  to  his  means  of  subsistence.  Mr. 
Hobart  of  Hingham,  received  ninety  pounds  a 
year,  one-third  in  wheat,  one-third  in  corn,  and 
the  remainder  in  peas.  Mr.  Mather  of  Dor- 
chester, received  one  hundred  pounds,  payable 
in  corn,  and  in  work  as  he  might  have  occasion 
for  it.  Mr.  Eliot  and  Mr.  Danforth  of  Rox- 
bury,  sixty  pounds  each,  in  corn.  Mr.  Allen 
of  Dedham,  sixty  pounds,  in  corn  and  work. 
Mr.  Flint  and  Mr.  Thompson,  of  Braintree, 
fifty-five  pounds,  each,  in  corn.  Mr.  Wilson 
of  Medfield,  sixty  pounds,  in  corn.  Mr.  Shep- 
ard's  salary  was  not,  probably,  greater  than  that 
of  his  friends  in  the  neighboring  towns',  nor  paid 
in  a  different  manner.  And  when  the  scarcity 
of  money  became  so  great  that  the  corn,  in  which 
his  salary  was  paid,  could  neither  be  sold  for 
cash, — nor  exchanged  at  the  merchant's  for  the 
various  other  necessaries  of  life,  nor,  (until  the 
order  of  court  above  referred  to,)  made  a  legal 
tender  for  any  debt,  his  situation,  as  well  as 
that  of  all  the  ministers  in  the  colony,  who 
had  no  means  of  subsistence,  except  their 
stipulated  amount  of  corn,  must  have  been 
well  nigh  desperate.  And  if,  in  addition  to  the 
unavoidable  pressure  which  had  come  upon  him, 
any  of  the  people, — before  the  price  of  corn  as 
part  of  the  circulating  medium  had  been  fixed 


238   L  I  F  E      OF     THOMAS     SHEFABO. 

by  the  court, — unfairly  charged  their  minister  the 
price  which  this  commodity  bore  the  year  before, 
when  it  had  suddenly  fallen  to  one-third,  or  to 
one  quarter  of  its  former  value,  and,  as  Winthrop 
says,  "would  buy  nothing,"  the  evil  would,  of 
course,  be  greatly  aggravated.  Reduced  to  great 
extremity,  with  respect  to  his  maintenance,  Mr. 
Shepard  contemplated  a  removal  to  Matabeseck, 
a  settlement  upon  the  Connecticut  river,  which 
was  afterwards  called  Middletown.  To  this  step 
he  was  urged  by  Mr.  Hooker,  his  father-in-law, 
in  the  following  interesting  letter,  never  before 
published,  which  strongly  fnsinuates  that  there 
had  been*  some  injustice  and  unfair  dealing  as 
well  as  poverty,  among  the  people,  with  respect 
to  the  payment  of  their  debts. 

"  Dear  Son, 

Since  the  first  intimation  I  had 
from  my  cousin  Samuel,  when  you  was  here 
with  us,  touching  the  number  and  nature  of 
your  debts,  I  conceived  and  concluded  the  con- 
sequences to  be  marvelous  desperate  in  the  view 
of  reason,  in  truth,  unavoidable,  and  yet  insup- 
portable, such  as  were  likely  to  ruinate  the  whole. 
For  why  should  any  send  commodities,  much  less 
come  themselves  to  the  place,  when  there  is  no 
justice  amongst  men  to  pay  for  what  they  take, 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.  239 

or  the  place  is  so  forlorn  and  helpless,  that  men 
cannot  support  themselves  in  a  way  of  justice, 
and  therefore  there  is  neither  sending  nor 
coming,  unless  they  will  make  themselves  and 
substance  a  prey.  And  hence  to  weary  a 
man's  self  to  wrestle  out  an  inconvenience, 
when  it  is  beyond  all  possibilities  which  are 
laid  before  a  man  in  a  rational  course,  is  alto- 
gether bootless  and  fruitless,  and  is  to  increase  a 
man's  misery,  not  to  ease  it.  Such  be  the  mazes 
of  mischievous  hazards,  that  our  sinful  depart- 
ures from  the  right  and  righteous  ways  of  God 
bring  upon  us,  that,  as  birds  taken  in  an  evil 
net,  the  more  they  stir,  the  faster  they  are  tied. 
If  there  was  any  sufficiency  to  make  satisfaction 
in  time,  then  respite  might  send  and  procure 
relief;  but,  when  that  is  wanting,  delay  is  to 
make  many  deaths  of  one,  and  to  make  them  all 
more  deadly. 

"  The  first  and  safest  way  for  peace  and  com- 
fort, is  to  quit  a  man's  hand  of  the  sin,  and  so 
of  the  staying  of  the  plague.  Happy  is  he  that 
hath  none  of  the  guilt  in  the  commission  of  evils, 
sticking  to  him.  But  he  that  is  faulty,  it  will  be 
his  happiness  to  recover  himself  by  repentance, 
both  sudden  and  seasonably  serious  ;  and  when 
that  is  done  in  such  hopeless  occasions,  it  is 
good  to  sit  down  under  the   wisdom  of  some 


240   LIFE     OF     THOMAS     8HEPARD. 

word :  That  which  is  crooked  nobody  can  make 
strait,  and  that  which  is  wanting  none  can  sup- 
ply ;  Eccl.  1 :  15;  and  then  seek  a  way  in 
heaven  for  escape,  when  there  is  no  way  on 
earth  that  appears.  You  say  that  which  I  long 
since  supposed;  the  magistrates  are  at  their 
wit's  end,  and  I  do  not  marvel  at  it. 

"  But  is  there,  then,  nothing  to  be  done,  but 
to  sink  in  our  sorrows  ?  I  confess  here  to  reply, 
and  that  upon  the  sudden,  is  wholly  beyond  all 
my  skill.  Yet  I  must  needs  say  something,  if 
it  be  but  to  breathe  out  our  thoughts,  and  so  our 
sorrows.  I  say  ours,  because  the  evil  will  reach 
us  really  more  than  by  bare  sympathy.  Taking 
my  former  ground  for  granted,  that  the  weakness 
of  the  body  is  such  that  it  is  not  able  to  bear  the 
disease  longer,  but  is  like  to  grow  worse  and 
more  unfit  for  cure, — which  I  suppose  is  the  case 
in  hand, — then  I  cannot  see  but  of  necessity  this 
course  must  be  taken  : 

"  1.  The  debtors  must  freely  and  fully  tender 
themselves  and  all  they  have  into  the  hands, 
and  be  at  the  mercy  and  discretion  of  the  credi- 
tors. And  this  must  be  done  nakedly  and 
really.  It  is  too  much  that  men  have  rashly  and 
unjustly  taken  more  than  they  were  able  to  re- 
pay and  satisfy;  therefore  they  must  not  add 
falsehood  and  dissimulation  when  they  come  to 


LTFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.  241 

pay,  and  so  not  only  break  their  estate  but  their 
consciences  finally.  I  am  afraid  there  be  old 
arrearages  of  this  nature  that  lie  yet  in  the 
dark. 

"  2.  The  churches  of  the  Commonwealth  by 
joint  consent  and  serious  consideration,  must 
make  a  privy  search  what  have  been  the  courses 
and  sinful  carriages  which  have  brought  in  and 
increased  this  epidemical  evil  :  pride  and  idle- 
ness, excess  in  apparel,  building,  diet,  unsuita- 
ble to  our  beginnings  or  abilities  ;  what  tolera- 
tion and  connivance  at  extortion  and  oppression  ; 
the  tradesman  willing  the  workman  may  take 
what  he  will  for  his  work,  that  he  may  ask 
what  he  will  for  his  commodities. 

"  3.  "When  they  have  humbled  themselves  un- 
feignedly  before  the  Lord,  then  set  up  a  real 
reformation,  not  out  of  politick  respects,  attending 
our  own  devices,  but  out  of  plainness,  looking  at 
the  rule  and  following  that,  leave  the  rest  to  the 
Lord,  who  will  ever  go  with  those  who  go  his 
own  way. 

*'  Has  premises  ;  I  cannot  see  in  reason  but  if 
you  can  sell,  and  the  Lord  afford  you  any  com- 
fortable chapmen,  but  you  should  remove.  For 
why  should  a  man  stay  until  the  house  fall  on 
his  head;  or  why  continue  his  being  there  where 
in  reason  he  shall  destroy  his  substance  ?     For 

VOL.    IV.  21 


242   LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

were  men  merchants,  how  can  they  hold  it, 
when  men  either  want  money  to  buy  withal,  or 
else  want  honesty  and  will  not  pay  ?  The  more 
honest  and  able  any  persons  or  plantations  be, 
their  rates  will  increase,  stocks  grow  low,  and 
their  increase  little  or  nothing.  And  if  remove, 
why  not  to  Matabeseck  ?  For  may  be  the  gen- 
tlemen will  not  come,  and  that  is  most  likely ; 
or  if  they  do,  they  will  not  come  all ;  or  if  all, 
is  it  not  probable  but  they  may  be  entreated  to 
abate  one  of  the  lots  ;  or  if  not  abate, — if  they 
take  double  lots, — they  must  bear  double  rates : 
and  I  see  not  but  all  plantations  find  this  a  main 
wound,  they  want  men  of  abilities  and  parts  to 
manage  their  affairs,  and  men  of  estate  to  bear 
charges.  I  will  tell  thee  mine  whole  heart :  con- 
sidering, as  I  conceive,  your  company,  must 
break,  and  considering  things  ut  supra,  if  you 
can  sell,  you  should  remove. 

"  If  I  were  in  your  places,  I  should  let  those 
that  must  and  will,  transplant  themselves  as  they 
see  fit,  in  a  way  of  providence  and  prudence. 
I  would  reserve  a  special  company, — but  not 
many, — and  I  would  remove  hither.  For  I  do 
verily  think  that  either  the  gentlemen  will  not 
come,  or  if  they  do,  they  may  be  over  entreated 
not  to  prejudice  the  Plantation  by  taking  too 
much.     And  yet  if  I  had  but  a  convenient  spare 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  243 

number,  I  do  believe  that  would  not  prove  preju- 
dical  to  any  comfortable  subsistence  ;  for  able 
men  are  most  fit  to  carry  on  occasions  by  their 
persons  and  estates  with  most  success.  These 
are  all  my  thoughts;  but  they  are  inter  nos ; 
use  them  as  you  see  meet.  I  know  to  begin 
plantations  is  a  hard  work ;  and  I  think  I  have 
seen  as  much  difficulty,  and  come  to  such  a 
business  with  as  much  disadvantage  as  almost 
men  could  do,  and  therefore  I  would  not  press 
men  against  their  spirits.  When  persons  do 
not  choose  a  work,  they  will  be  ready  to  quarrel 
with  the  hardness  of  it.  This  only  is  to  me 
beyond  exception ;  if  you  do  remove,  consider- 
ing the  correspondence  you  have  here  of  hearts 
and  hands  and  helps,  you  shall  never  remove  to 
any  place  with  the  like  advantage.  The  pillar 
of  fire  and  cloud  go  before  you,  and  the  Father 
of  mercies  be  the  God  of  all  the  changes  that 

pass  over  your  head." 

Totus  tuus, 

T.    H00KER.*= 

Nov.  2,  1640. 

Sint  mutua  preces  in perpetuum." 

In  a  subsequent  letter,  but  without  date,  Mr. 


*  Hutchinson's  MSS.  Papers,  Vol.  I.  pp.  37-40. 


244LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEFARD. 

Hooker  refers  again  to  the  subject  of  Mr.  Shep- 
ard's  removal.  "  Touching  your  business  at 
Matabeseck ;  this  is  the  compass  of  it :  Mr. 
Fenwick  is  willing  that  you  and  your  company 
should  come  thither  upon  these  terms  :  Provided 
that  you  will  reserve  three  double  lots  for  three  of 
the  gentlemen,  if  they  come  ;  that  is,  those  three 
lots  must  carry  a  double  proportion  to  that 
which  your's  take.  If  they  take  twenty  acres  of 
meadow,  you  must  reserve  forty  for  them;  if 
thirty,  threescore  for  them.  This  is  all  we 
could  obtain,  because  he  stays  one  year  longer 
in  expectation  of  his  company,  at  the  least  some 
of  them ;  and  the  like  hath  been  done  in  Quin- 
ipiack,  and  hath  been  usual  in  such  beginnings. 
Therefore  we  were  silent  in  such  a  grant,  for  the 
while.  Consider,  and  write  back  your  thoughts. 
I  am  now  weary  with  writing,  and  I  suppose 
you  will  be  with  reading.  The  blessing  of 
Him  that  dwelt  in  the  bush,  dwell  with  you  for 
ever.  Totus  tuus, 

T.  Hooker."* 

The  general  state  of  Mr.  Shepard's  mind  in 
view  of  this  contemplated  removal,  and  the 
painful  circumstances  which  had  brought  him 


*Hutchiiiwn'i  HSS.  Papers,  VoL  I. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD.  245 

into  these  straits,  may  be  inferred  from  some  re- 
marks found  in  his  Diary  during  this  gloomy 
season. 

"  February  14,  1640.  When  there  was  a 
church  meeting  to  be  resolved  about  our  going 
away,  viz :  to  Matabeseck,  I  looked  on  myself 
as  poor,  and  as  unable  to  resolve  myself  or  to 
guide  others  or  myself  in  any  action,  as  a  beast : 
and  I  saw  myself  in  respect  of  Christ,  as  a  brute 
is  in  respect  of  a  man.  And  hence  I  left  my- 
self on  Christ's  wisdom." 

It  is  a  peculiar  feature  in  all  Mr.  Shepard's 
references  to  his  trials,  that  he  never  complains 
of  outward  difficulties, — never  manifests  any 
impatience  under  his  losses  and  privations, — 
never  blames  those  by  whom  he  has  been  made 
to  suffer, — but  always  condemns  himself,  and 
makes  every  untoward  event  in  his  life,  a  means 
of  humbling  and  bringing  him  nearer  to  God. 
When  he  was  silenced  and  driven  forth  as  a  fu- 
gitive by  Bishop  Laud,  he  thought  it  was  "  for 
his  sins  "  that  the  Lord  thus  set  his  adversaries 
against  him. 

It  is,  indeed,  impossible  to  discover  by  reading 
his  Diary  how  great,  or  of  what  kind,  his  exter- 
nal trials  were ;  or  even  whether,  at  this  time, 
there  were  any  particularly  trying  circumstances 
in  his  condition ;  and  it  was  not  until  after  long 
21# 


246    LIFE      OF      TUOMAS      SHEPAED. 

examination,  and  a  very  fortunate  accident  as  it 
might  be  called,  that  the  extract  above,  standing 
as  it  does  without  any  explanation,  was  found  to 
relate  to  embarrassments  which  threatened  the 
very  existence  of  his  congregation  in  Cambridge. 
As  illustrations  of  this  feature,  the  following 
passages,  taken  almost  at  random  from  his  Dia- 
ry during  this  season,  may  be  given. 

"December  1.  A  small  thing  troubled  me. 
Hence  I  saw,  that  though  the  Lord  had  made 
me  that  night  attain  to  that  part  of  humiliation 
to  see  that  I  deserved  nothing  but  misery,  yet  I 
fell  short  in  this  other  part,  viz :  to  submit  to 
God  in  any  crossing  providence  or  command, 
but  had  a  spirit  soon  touched  and  provoked.  I 
saw  also  that  the  Lord  let  sin  and  Satan  prevail 
there,  that  I  might  see  my  sin,  and  be  more 
humbled  by  it,  and  so  get  strength  against  it." 

*'  January  IL  In  the  morning  the  Lord  pre- 
sented to  me  the  sad  state  of  the  church  ;  which 
put  me  upon  a  spirit  of  sorrow  for  my  sins  as 
one  cause,  and  to  resolve  in  season  to  go  visit 
all  families.  But  first  to  begin  with  myself  and 
go  to  Christ,  that  he  may  begin  to  pour  out  his 
ointment  on  me,  and  then  to  my  wife,  and  then 
to  my  family,  and  then  to  my  brethren." 

"  January  30.     When  I  was  in  meditation,  I 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.  247 

saw,  when  Christ  was  present,  all  blessings  were 
present;  as  where  any  were  without  Christ 
present,  there  all  sorrows  were.  Hence  I  saw 
how  little  of  Christ  was  present  in  me.  I  saw  I 
did  not  cease  to  be  and  live  of  myself,  that 
Christ  might  be  and  live  in  me.  I  saw  that 
Christ  was  to  do,  counsel,  and  direct,  and  that  I 
should  be  wholly  diffident  of  myself,  and  careful 
for  this  that  he  might  be  all  to  me.  Hence  I 
blessed  Christ  for  showing  me  this,  and  mourned 
for  the  want  of  it." 

"  February  1.  When  I  was  on  my  bed  a 
Monday  morning,  the  Lord  let  me  see  that  I 
was  nothing  else  but  a  mass  of  sin,  and  that  all 
I  did  was  very  vile.  Which  when  my  heart 
was  somewhat  touched  with,  immediately  the 
Lord  revealed  himself  to  me  in  his  fullness 
of  goodness,  with  much  sweet  affection.  The 
Lord  suddenly  appeared,  and  let  me  see  there 
was  strength  in  him  to  succor  me,  wisdom  to 
guide,  mercy  in  him  to  quicken,  Christ  to  satis- 
fy ;  and  so  I  saw  all  my  good  was  there,  as  all 
evil  was  in  myself." 

"  February  9.  I  considered,  when  I  could 
not  bring  Christ's  will  to  mine,  I  was  to  bring 
mine  to  his.  But  then  it  must  be  thus :  1 . 
That  if  ever   he   gives   my  desire,  it  will  be 


248lIFB     of      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

infinite  mercy,  and  so  his  will  is  good.  2. 
If  he  doth  not,  yet  I  deserved  to  be  crossed,  and 
to  feel  nothing  but  extremity." 

It  is  probable  that  at  the  church  meeting,  re- 
ferred to  Feb.  14,  the  plan  of  removing  to  Mat- 
abeseck  was  thoroughly  discussed,  and  in  view 
of  expected  relief  finally  given  up.  For  on  the 
next  day,  February  15,  we  find  the  following 
entry  in  his  Diary  :  "I  was  in  prayer,  and  in 
the  beginning  of  it,  that  promise  came  in,  '  Seek 
me,  arid  ye  shall  live.'  Hereupon  I  saw,  I  had 
cause  to  seek  him  only,  always ;  because  there 
was  nothing  else  good,  and  because  he  was 
always  good.  And  my  heart  made  choice  of 
God  alone,  and  he  was  a  sweet  portion  to  me. 
And  I  began  to  see  how  well  I  could  be  without 
all  other  things  with  him ;  and  so  learnt  to  live 
by  faith."  Again  under  date  of  March  2,  1641, 
he  says,  "  I  was  cast  down  with  the  sight  of  our 
unworthiness  in  this  church,  deserving  to  be 
utterly  wasted.  But  the  Lord  filled  my  heart 
with  a  spirit  of  prayer,  not  only  to  desire  small 
things,  but  with  an  holy  boldness  to  desire  great 
things  for  God's  people  here,  and  for  myself, 
viz  :  that  I  might  live  to  see  all  breaches  made 
up,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  upon  us  :  and 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  249 

that  I  might  not  die,  but  live,  to  show  forth 
God's  glory  to  this,  and  the  children  of  the  next 
generation.  And  so  I  rose  from  prayer  with 
some  confidence  of  an  answer.  1.  Because  I 
saw  Christ  put  it  into  my  heart  to  ask ;  2.  Be- 
cause he  was  true  to  hear  all  prayer." 
Still  later  we  find  the  following  passage  : 
"  October  29.  I  was  much  troubled  about 
the  poverty  of  the  churches  ;  and  I  saw  it  was 
such  a  misery  as  I  could  not  well  discern  the 
cause  of,  nor  see  any  way  out.  Yet  I  saw  we 
might  find  out  the  cause  of  any  evil  by  the 
Lord's  stroke.  Now  he  struck  us  in  outward 
blessings,  and  hence  'tis  a  sign  there  was  our 
evil ;  1.  In  not  acknowledging  all  we  have 
from  God,  Hos.  2:8.  2.  In  not  serving  God 
in  havin'g  them.  3.  In  making  ourselves  se- 
cure and  hard-hearted :  for  lawful  blessings 
are  the  secret  idols,  and  do  most  hurt ;  and  'tis 
then  a  sign  our  greatest  hurt  lies  in  having,  and 
that  the  greatest  good  lies  in  God's  taking  them 
away  from  us.  Whereupon  I  considering  this, 
did  secretly  content  myself  that  the  Lord  should 
take  all  from  us,  if  it  might  be  not  in  wrath,  but 
in  love,  hereby  to  glorify  himself  the  more,  and 
to  take  away  the  fuel  of  our  sin.  I  saw  that  if 
the  Lord's  people  could  be  joyfully  content  to  part 
with  all  to  the  Lord,  prizing  the  gain  of  a  little 


250   LIFE     OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

holiness  more  than  enough  to  overbalance  all 
their  losses,  that  the  Lord  then  would  do  us 
good." 

One  more  extract  from  his  meditations  at  this 
time  will  suffice.  "  July  23.  As  I  was  riding 
to  the  sermon,  (lecture  at  Charlestown)  my  heart 
began  to  be  much  disquieted  by  seeing  almost 
all  men's  souls  and  estates  out  of  order,  and 
many  evils  in  men's  hearts,  lives,  courses. 
Hereupon  my  heart  began  to  withdraio  itself 
from  my  brethren  and  others.  But  I  had  it  se- 
cretly suggested  to  me,  that  Christ,  when  he 
saw  evils  in  any,  he  sought  to  amend  them,  did 
not  presently  withdraw  from  them,  nor  w^as  not 
perplexed  and  vexed  only  with  them.  And  so  I 
considered,  if  I  had  Christ's  spirit  in  me,  I 
should  do  so.  And  when  I  saw  that  the  Lord 
had  thus  overcome  my  reasonings  and  visited 
me,  I  blessed  his  name.  I  saw  also,  the  night 
before  this,  that  a  child  of  God,  in  his  solitari- 
ness, did  wrestle  against  temptation,  and  so 
overcome  his  discontent,  pride,  and  passion." 

This  event  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Shepard  is  ex- 
ceedingly interesting,  not  only  as  throwing  light 
upon  the  trials  and  hardships  to  which  our 
fathers  in  the  ministry  were  subjected  in  the 
early  days  of  New  England,  but  especially  as  it 
brings  out  in  a  striking  manner,  a  prominent  and 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.    251 

beautiful  feature  of  Mr.  Shepard's  piety.  The 
purity  of  gold  is  tested  by  the  crucible  ;  and  this 
trial  of  a  faith,  "  more  precious  than  of  gold  that 
perisheth,"  developed  a  state  of  mind  which, 
amidst  the  abounding  hypocrisy  and  selfishness 
of  the  world,  it  is  most  delightful  to  contemplate. 
The  manner  in  which  he  stayed  himself  upon 
God,  and  rebuked  his  discontent,  and  quietly 
continued  his  labors,  under  a  burden  of  debt  and 
of  want,  which,  upon  ordinary  principles  would 
have  justified  his  removal,  may  serve  as  a  model 
of  ministerial  patience  and  faithfulness  for  us  at 
the  present  day.  Ministers  are  doubtless  sub- 
jected to  many  trials  growing  out  of  an  insuffi- 
cient maintenance  ;  and  the  people  may  be  more 
or  less  in  fault  for  the  embarrassments  which 
distract  their  pastors!  But  a  hasty  removal  to 
Matabeseck  is  not  the  only  cure  ;  nor  will  impa- 
tience, and  discouragement,  and  complaint  make 
the  burden  any  lighter.  If  in  such  circum- 
stances a  minister  can,  like  Shepard,  make  the 
troubles  of  his  outward  estate  the  means  of  ren- 
dering him  more  humble,  more  prayerful,  more 
submissive  to  the  will  of  God,  more  desirous  of 
glorifying  Christ  by  a  faithful  service,  he  may 
live  to  see  "  all  breaches  made  up,  and  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  upon  him."    He  will  not  die  of  star- 


252  LIFE     OF     THOMAS     8HEPARD. 

vation,  but  "  live  to  show  forth  God's  glory  to  this, 
and  the  children  of  the  next  generation."  More 
of  the  spirit  of  our  fathers  under  the  unavoida- 
ble pressure  of  providence,  or  the  injustice  and 
selfishness  of  the  people,  would  in  the  end  pro- 
duce a  great  change  in  the  state  of  things  ;  would 
render  the  ministry  more  permanent  and  more 
respected,  and  the  people  more  just  and  benevo- 
lent;— would  give  the  lie  to  the  charge  that 
ministers  labor  merely  for  hire,  and  produce  in 
the  public  mind  a  deep  conviction  that  those 
who  preach  the  gospel  are  really  the  servants  of 
Him  "  who  though  rich,  for  our  sakes  became 
poor,  that  we  through  his  poverty  might  be  rich." 
The  injustice  of  the  people  in  withholding  an 
ample  support  when  it  is  in  their  power  to  give 
it,  is  not  hereby  justified,  but  rebuked  in  the 
most  effectual  manner ;  and  perhaps  nothing 
would  be  so  likely  to  make  the  altar  rich  enough 
in  external  offerings  to  supply  all  the  wants  of 
those  who  minister  at  it,  as  that  supreme  regard 
to  the  interests  of  the  church  and  the  honor  of 
Christ,  of  which  Shepard  gives  us  such  a  beau- 
tiful example. 

Of  Mr.  Shepard's  domestic  afl^airs  subsequent 
to  the  period  referred  to  above,  little  is  known, 
except  what  he  has  incidentally  told  us  in  his 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.  253 

invaluable  but  too  brief  account  of  himself. 
That  he  suffered  many  privations  in  conse- 
quence of  the  general  poverty  of  the  people,  is 
probable ;  and  that  amidst  all  his  afflictions  he 
labored  with  a  zeal  that  consumed  him,  is  cer- 
tain. In  October  1641,  he  says,  "  I  was  very 
sad  to  see  the  outward  wants  of  the  country ; 
and  what  would  become  of  me  and  mine,  if  we 
should  want  clothes  and  go  naked,  and  give 
away  all  to  pay  our  debts.  Hereupon  the  Lord 
set  me  upon  prizing  his  love,  and  the  Lord  made 
me  content  with  it.  And  there  I  left  myself,  and 
begged  this  portion  for  myself,  and  for  my  child, 
and  for  the  church."  Again, "  Oct.  2.  On  Satur- 
day night  and  this  morning  I  saw,  and  was  much 
affected  with  God's  goodness  unto  me,  the  least 
of  my  father's  house,  to  send  the  gospel  to  me. 
And  I  saw  what  a  great  blessing  it  would  be  to 
my  child,  if  he  may  have  it,  that  by  my  means 
it  comes  to  him.  And  seeing  the  glory  of  this 
mercy,  the  Lord  stirred  up  my  heart  to  desire 
the  blessing  and  presence  of  his  ordinances  in 
this  place,  and  the  continuance  of  his  poor 
churches  among  us,  looking  on  them  as  means 
to  preserve  and  propagate  the  gospel.  And  my 
heart  was  for  this  end  very  desirous  of  mercy, 
outward  and  inward  to  sustain  them,  for  his  own 
VOL.  IV.  22 


2o4  LIFB      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

mercy's  sake.  And  so  I  saw  one  strong  motive 
to  pray  for  them,  even  for  posterity's  sake,  rather 
than  in  England,  where  so  much  sin  and  evil 
was  abounding,  and  where  children  might  be 
polluted.  And  I  desired  to  honor  the  Lord  bet- 
ter, that  I  might  make  him  known  to  this  gener- 
ation." Again,  "  Oct,  9.  On  Saturday  morning, 
I  was  much  affected  for  my  life ;  that  I  might 
live  still  to  seek,  that  so  I  might  see  God,  and 
make  known  God  before  my  death."  These  ex- 
tracts from  his  Diary,  a  book  of  choice  thoughts, 
worthy  to  be  the  daily  companion  of  every  min- 
ister, show  that  with  respect  to  his  appropriate 
work  he  was  diligent,  and  notwithstanding  his 
outward  trials,  contented. 

During  the  nine  years  which  elapsed  between 
Mr.  Shepard's  second  marriage  and  the  death 
of  his  excellent  wife,  three  children  were  born 
to  him.  The  first,  a  boy,  died  "  before  he  saw 
the  sun,  even  in  the  very  birth."  The  second, 
Samuel,  was  born  October  18,  1641,  at  the  time 
of  Mr.  Shepard's  greatest  domestic  privation 
and  difficulty.  The  third  was  also  a  son,  named 
John,  who,  after  a  brief  and  sickly  life  of  four 
months,  "  departed  on  the  Sabbath  morning,  a 
day  of  rest,  to  the  bosom  of  rest." 

With  respect  to  Samuel,  we  find  the  follow- 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEFARD.  255 

ing  reference  in  the  Diary  from  which  several 
passages  have  been  already  quoted. 

"  October  18.  On  Monday  morning  my  child 
was  born.  And  when  my  wife  was  in  travail, 
the  Lord  made  me  pray  that  she  might  be  de- 
livered, and  the  child  given  in  mercy,  having 
had  some  sense  of  mercy  the  day  before  at  the 
sacrament.  But  I  began  to  think,  What  if  it 
should  not  be  so,  and  her  pains  be  long,  and  the 
Lord  remember  my  sin  ?  And  I  began  to  imag- 
ine, and  trouble  my  heart  with  fear  of  the  worst. 
And  I  understood  at  that  time,  that  my  child 
had  been  born,  and  my  wife  delivered  in  mercy 
already.  Hereupon  I  saw  the  Lord's  mercy, 
and  my  own  folly  to  disquiet  my  heart  with  fear 
of  what  never  shall  be,  and  not  rather  to  submit 
to  the  Lord's  will ;  and  come  what  can  come,  to 
be  quiet  there.  When  it  was  born,  I  was  much 
affected,  and  my  heart  clave  to  the  Lord  who 
gave  it.  And  thoughts  came  in  that  this  was 
the  beginning  of  more  mercy  for  time  to  come. 
But  I  questioned,  will  the  Lord  provide  for  it  ? 
And  I  saw  that  the  Lord  had  made  man,  (es- 
pecially the  church  and  their  posterity)  to  great 
glory,  to  praise  him,  and  hence  would  take  care 
of  him.  .  .  .  And  I  saw  God  had  blessings  for 
all  my  children ;  and  hence  I  turned  them  over 
to  God." 


256    LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHBPABD. 

This  son,  whom  Mr.  Shepard  and  his  friends 
were  wont  to  call  "Little  Samuel,"  was  brought 
up  in  the  family  of  his  grandfather  Hooker  at 
Hartford.  We  catch  a  glimpse  of  him  by  means 
of  a  delightful  letter  from  Mr.  Hooker  to  Mr. 
Shepard,  without  date,  but  written,  as  we  should 
judge  from  a  passage  in  it,  just  before  the  sec- 
ond meeting  of  the  Synod  which  agreed  upon 
the  Platform,  and  probably  after  the  death  of 
Samuel's  mother. 

" Deab  Son  : 

This  being  the  first  messenger  which  I 
.understand  comes  into  your  coasts,  I  was  glad 
to  embrace  the  opportunity  that  I  might  acquaint 
you  with  God's  dealings  and  our  own  condition 
here.  The  winter  hath  been  exceeding  mild 
and  favorable  above  any  that  ever  yet  we  had 
since  we  came  into  these  ends  of  the  earth. 
Thus  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  cross  the  conceits  of 
the  discontented,  and  accommodate  the  comforts 
of  his  servants  beyond  their  expectations,  and  is 
able  to  do  the  like  in  other  things,  were  we  as 
fit  to  receive  them  as  he  is  willing  to  dispense 
t&fem  to  us.  Myself,  wife  and  family,  enjoy  our 
wonted  health.  My  little  Sam :  is  very  well, 
and  exceedingly  cheerful, and  hath  been  so  all  this 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    257 

time, — grows  a  good  scholar.     The  little  crea- 
ture hath  such  a  pleasing,  winning  disposition, 
that  it  makes  me  think  of  his  mother  almost 
every  time  I  play  with  him.  .  .  . 
Totus  tuus 

T.  Hooker.* 
Saluta  Salutanda 
Mr.  Cotton,  Mr.  Dunster,  &c." 

In  another  letter,  apparently  subsequent  to 
the  preceding,  Mr.  Hooker  again  speaks  with  a 
grandfather's  tenderness  of  his  "  Little  Sam  :" 
"  My  little  bed-fellow  is  well.  I  bless  the  Lord, 
and  I  find  what  you  related  to  be  true ;  the 
colder  the  weather  grows,  the  more  quiet  he  lies. 
I  shall  hardly  trust  any  body  with  him  but  mine 
own  eye.  Young  ones  are  heavy  headed,  and 
if  once  they  fall  to  sleep,  they  are  hard  to  awake, 
and  therefore  unfit  to  help.  My  wife  wishes 
you,  by  advice,  to  give  something  to  little  John, 
to  prevent  the  jaundice.  Preventing  physic  is 
best.  By  this  time  I  am  weary  with  writing, 
and  I  suppose  you  may  be  so  with  reading. 
My  eyes  grow  dim,  and  my  hand  much  worse, 
though  never  good,  and  therefore   my  pen  is 


*  Hutchinson's  MSS.  Papers,  vol.  I.  p,  90. 

22* 


2^LIFB     OF     THOMAS     SHBPARD. 

very  unpleasant,  yet  I  could  not  but  communi- 
cate my  thoughts  with  you  according  to  my  cus- 
tom. '        ^'^ 

My  wife  and  friends  salute  you.  Sam  re- 
members his  duty  :  is  very  thankful  for  his  things 
you  sent  which  are  received. 

The  blessing  of  heaven  be  with  you. 
Totus  tuus 

T.    HOOKEE."* 

Sept.  17,  1646. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  add,  that  Samuel  Shep- 
ard  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1658, — 
was  ordained  the  third  minister  of  Rowley  in 
1662,  and  died  April  7,  1668,  at  the  early  age 
of  twenty-seven.  "  He  was,"  says  Mr.  Mitchel, 
"  a  pious,  holy,  meditating,  able,  choice  young 
man, — one  of  the  first  three.  He  was  an  excel- 
lent preacher,  and  most  dearly  beloved  at  Row- 
ley. The  people  would  have  plucked  out  their 
eyes  to  have  saved  his  life." 


*  Huuhiaaoa's  MSS.  Papers,  roL  L  p.  100. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.  259 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Mr.  Shepard's  plan  for  procuring  funda  for  the  support  of  indigent 
students.  Defence  of  the  Nine  Positions.  Letter  from  Mr.  Hook- 
er. Character  of  the  Answer  to  Ball.  Mr.  Cotton's  opinion  of 
the  work.  Influence  of  Mr.  Shepard  in  procuring  the  Cambridge 
Platform.  Letter  from  Mr.  Hooker.  Character  of  the  Platform. 
Commendation  of  Higgiuson  and  Oakes.  Birth  of  son,  and  sudden 
death  of  Mrs.  Shepard. 

In  consequence  of  the  general  poverty  and  des- 
titution of  the  colony,  referred  to  in  the  fore- 
going chapter,  which  had  almost  driven  Mr. 
Shepard  from  Cambridge,  the  college  in  whose 
prosperity  he  felt  the  deepest  interest,  was  in  a 
languishing  condition.  Its  funds  were  alto- 
gether insufficient  to  accomplish  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  founded ;  and  such  was  the  scar- 
city of  money  that  many  young  men,  who  were 
desirous  of  obtaining  a  liberal  education,  were 
utterly  unable  to  meet  the  expense  of  a  resi- 
dence at  Cambridge.  At  this  crisis,  Mr.  Shep- 
ard, ever  foremost  in  promoting  the  cause  of 
religious  education  in  the  colony,  conceived 
the  plan  of  procuring  voluntary  contribu- 
tions of  corn, — money  being  out  of  the  ques- 
tion,— from  all  parts  of  New  England,  for  the 


260  LIFE     OF     THOMAS     SHBPARD. 

maintenance  of  indigent  students.  When  the 
Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies  of  Massa- 
chusetts, Plymouth,  Connecticut,  and  New 
Haven,  met  at  Hartford  in  1644,  Mr.  Shepard, 
heing  in  Connecticut,  laid  his  plan  before  that 
body,  in  the  following  noble  Memorial : 

"  To  the  honored  Commissioners  : 

"  Those  whom  God  hath  called  to  attend  the 
welfare  of  religious  commonwealths,  have  been 
prompt  to  extend  their  care  for  the  goo^,  of 
public  schools,  by  means  of  which,  the  common- 
wealth may  be  furnished  into  knowing  and 
understanding  men  in  all  callings,  and  the 
church,  with  an  able  minister  in  all  places ; 
without  which  it  is  easy  to  see  how  both  these 
estates  may  decline  and  degenerate  into  gross 
ignorance,  and  consequently  into  great  and 
universal  profaneness.  May  it  please  you, 
therefore,  among  other  things  of  common  con- 
cernment, and  public  benefit,  to  take  into  your 
consideration  some  way  of  comfortable  mainte- 
nance for  that  school  of  the  prophets  that  now  is. 
For  although  hitherto  God  ha^h  carried  on  the 
work  by  a  special  hand,  and  that  not  without 
some  evident  fruit  and  success,  yet  it  is  found 
by  too  sad  experience,  that,  for  want  of  some 
external  supplies,  many  are  discouraged  from 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.     261 

sending  their  children,  though  pregnant  and  fit 
to  take  the  least  impression  thereunto ;  others 
that  are  sent,  their  parents  enforced  to  take 
them  away  too  soon  to  their  own  homes  too  oft, 
as  not  able  to  minister  any  comfortable  and 
seasonable  maintenance  therein.  And  those 
that  are  continued,  not  without  much  pressure, 
generally,  to  the  feeble  abilities  of  their  parents, 
or  other  private  friends,  who  bear  the  burden 
therein  alone.  If,  therefore,  it  were  recom- 
mei^ded  by  you  to  the  freedom  of  every  family 
that  is  able  and  willing  to  give,  throughout  the 
plantations,  to  give  but  the  fourth  part  of  a 
bushel  of  corn,  or  something  equivalent  there- 
to ; — and  to  this  end,  if  every  minister  were 
desired  to  stir  up  the  hearts  of  the  people,  once 
in  the  fittest  season  of  the  year,  to  be  freely 
enlarged  therein ; — and  one  or  two  faithful  and 
fit  men  appointed  in  each"  town  to  receive  and 
seasonably  to  send  in  what  shall  be  thus  given 
by  them; — it  is  conceived,  that,  as  no  man 
would  feel  any  grievance  hereby,  so  it  would  be 
a  blessed  means  of  comfortable  provision  for  the 
diet  of  divers  such  students  as  may  stand  in 
need  of  some  support,  and  be  thought  meet  and 
worthy  to  be  continued  a  fit  season  therein. 
And  because  it  may  seem  an  unmeet  thing  for 
this  one  to  suck  and  draw  away  all  that  nourish- 


262   LIFE     OF     THOMAS     SHEPABD. 

ment  which  the  like  schools  may  need  in  after 
times  in  other  colonies,  your  wisdom  may  there- 
fore set  down  what  limitation  you  please,  or 
choose  any  other  way  you  shall  think  more 
meet  for  this  desired  present  supply.  Your 
religious  care  hereof,  as  it  cannot  but  be  pleas- 
ing to  him  whose  you  are,  and  whom  you  now 
serve,  so  fruit  hereof  may  hereafter  abundantly 
satisfy  you  that  your  labor  herein  hath  not  been 
in  vain."* 

This  Memorial  was  received  by  the  Qpm- 
missioners  with  much  favor.  They  cordially 
approved  of  Mr.  Shepard's  plan,  and  ordered 
that  it  should  be  recommended  to  the  Deputies 
of  the  several  General  Courts,  and  to  the  Elders 
within  the  four  colonies,  to  call  for  a  voluntary 
contribution  of  one  peck  of  corn,  or  twelve 
pence  in  money,  or  its  equivalent  in  other  com- 
modities, from  everjT  family ;  a  recommenda- 
tion which  was  adopted  by  the  courts,  and  very 
generally  responded  to  with  great  alacrity  by 
the  people, — suitable  persons  being  appointed 
in  all  the  towns  to  receive  and  disburse  the 
donations. t 

Thus  through  the  influence  of  Mr.  Shepard, 
the  first  charitable  provision  for  the  support  of 

«  Hazard'*  Slat«  Papers,  Vol.  11,  p.  17 
t  Wiitthrop'a  Journal,  II.  214 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  263 

indigent  scholars  in  New  England,  was  made 
at  Cambridge ;  and  a  noble  example  of  zeal  for 
the  advancement  of  learning  was  exhibited, 
amidst  poverty,  hardship,  and  sufferings,  that 
might  easily  have  been  pleaded  in  excuse  for  the 
indefinite  postponement  of  this  work.  Massa- 
chusetts, in  later  times,  has  produced  many 
liberal  benefactors  of  Harvard  and  other  col- 
leges ;  but  none  deserving  of  higher  honor  than 
Shepard,  and  those  public-spirited  men  whom 
he  inspired  with  a  zeal  in  behalf  of  this  institu- 
tion, which  carried  them  to  the  extent  of  their 
power,  "  yea  and  beyond  their  power,"  in  sup- 
plying its  wants. 

At  this  period  of  his  life,  Mr.  Shepard  was 
equally  zealous  and  successful  in  the  work  of 
establishing  and  vindicating  those  principles, 
and  that  ecclesiastical  polity  which  have  ever 
distinguished  Massachusetts  as  a  religious 
commonwealth.  In  connection  with  Cotton, 
Hooker,  and  Norton,  he  exerted  a  controling 
influence  in  organizing  and  settling  the  Congre- 
gational churches  upon  that  foundation  where 
they  have  stood  until  this  day. 

In  the  year  1636,  a  number  of  Puritan  minis- 
ters in  England,  having  been  informed  that  the 
churches  of  New  England  had  adopted  a  new 
mode  of  discipline,  which  many  deemed  errone^ 


264   LIFE      OF     TH  O  M  AS     SH£PAED. 

ous,  and  which  they  themselves  had  formerly 
disliked,  addressed  to  them  a  letter  containing 
Nine  Questions  or  Propositions,  upon  which  their 
mature  opinion  was  requested ;  at  the  same 
time  assuring  them,  that  if  their  answer  was 
satisfactory,  they  should  receive  the  right  hand 
of  fellowship ;  if  otherwise,  their  error  should 
be  pointed  out  and  condemned. 

The  propositions  which  the  New  England 
ministers  were  understood  to  have  adopted,  and 
which  they  were  now  required  to  defend  or  to 
renounce,  were  the  following,  viz  :  That  a 
prescribed  form  of  prayer  and  set  Liturgy,  is 
unlawful ;  that  it  is  not  lawful  to  join  in  prayer, 
or  to  receive  the  sacrament,  where  a  prescribed 
Liturgy  is  used  ;  that  the  children  of  godly  and 
approved  Christians  are  not  to  be  baptized  until 
their  parents  become  regular  members  of  some 
particular  congregation ;  that  the  parents  them- 
selves, though  of  approved  piety,  are  not  to  be 
received  to  the  Lord's  supper  until  they  are 
admitted  as  members ;  that  the  power  of  excom- 
munication is  so  in  the  body  of  the  church  that 
what  the  major  part  shall  decide,  must  be  done, 
though  the  parties  and  the  rest  of  the  assembly 
are  of  another  mind ;  that  none  are  to  be  ad- 
mitted as  members  unless  they  promise  not  to 
depart  or  to  remove  without  the  consent  of  the 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  265 

congregation  ;  that  a  minister  is  so  the  minister 
of  a  particular  congregation,  that  if  they  dislike 
him  unjustly,  or  leave  him,  he  ceases  to  be 
their  minister; — that  one  minister  cannot  per- 
form any  ministerial  act  in  another  congrega- 
tion ; — that  members  of  one  congregation  may 
not  communicate  in  another. 

This  letter  was  immediately  answered  in  a 
pamphlet  containing  the  views  of  the  New 
England  ministers  upon  these  points,  which 
were  the  same,  in  substance,  as  those  main- 
tained in  Cotton's  "  Way  of  the  Congregational 
Churches,"  and  afterwards  more  fully  unfolded 
and  vindicated  in  "  The  Power  of  the  Keys." 
To  this  answer,  a  reply  was,  at  the  request  of 
the  English  brethren,  drawn  up  by  Mr.  John 
Ball,  minister  of  Whitmore,  near  Newcastle,  in 
Staffordshire,  entitled  "  A  Trial  of  the  New 
Church-Way  in  New  England  and  in  Old." 
The  first  copy  of  this  reply,  sent  in  1640, 
having  miscarried,  another  was  prepared, 
which,  after  much  delay,  finally  came  to  hand 
about  the  year  1644.  The  manifold  errors 
respecting  the  ecclesiastical  polity  of  our  Fa- 
thers, and  the  gross  misrepresentations  of  the 
principles  and  practices  of  these  churches, 
which  this  book  contained,  induced  Mr,  Shep- 
ard,  with  the  cooperation  of  Mr.  Allen  of  Ded- 
voL.  IV.         23 


266   LIFE     OF     THOMAS      SHEPABD. 

ham,  to  attempt  a  thorough  discussion  of  these 
points,  which  he  did  in  an  elaborate  Treatise 
entitled,  "  A  Defence  of  the  Answer  made  unto 
the  Nine  Questions  or  Positions  sent  from  New 
England,  against  the  Reply  thereto  by  that 
reverend  servant  of  Christ,  Mr.  John  Ball, 
entitled  '  A  Trial  of  the  New  Church-Way  in 
New  England  and  in  Old;'  wherein,  besides  a 
more  full  opening  of  sundry  particulars  concern- 
ing Liturgies,  Power  of  the  Keys,  Matter  of  the 
Visible  Church,  &c.,  is  more  largely  handled 
that  controversy  concerning  the  Catholic  Church ; 
tending  to  clear  up  the  old  way  of  Christ  in 
New  England  churches."  The  first  edition  of 
this  book  was  printed  at  London  in  1648.  In  a 
subsequent  edition,  printed  in  1653,  this  long 
and  cumbrous  title  was  abridged  and  the  name 
of  Mr.  Allen  omitted,  while  the  Preface  is  sub- 
scribed with  both  names  as  in  the  first  edition.* 
The  book  was,  without  doubt,  substantially  the 
work  of  Mr.  Shepard. 

In  this  Treatise  Mr.  Shepard  explains  and 
defends  the  views  of  our  New  England  Fathers 
respecting  the  worship  and  discipline  of  the 
church,  wii!i  extraordinary  learning,  ability,  and 
acuteness.     Mr.    Hooker,   in   a    letter  to   Mr. 


*  Hanbury'tt  Hi.'«u>rical  Memorials,  IIL  33. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD,  267 

Shepard,  written  about  the  time  that  the  Ques- 
tions made  their  appearance,  had  expressed  the 
fear  "  that  the  first  and  second  Questions  touch- 
ing a  stated  form  of  prayer,"  would  "  prove  very 
hard  to  make  any  handsome  work  upon  ;"  and 
that  "  a  troublesome  answer  might  be  returned 
to  all  the  arguments."  The  answer  to  the  Nine 
Positions  had  admitted  that  a  form  of  prayer  is 
not  in  itself  unlawful ;  and  Mr.  Hooker  feared 
that  in  defending  this  admission,  Mr.  Shepard 
would  expose  himself  and  his  brethren  to  the 
charge  of  inconsistency. 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Hooker's  fears,  and 
forebodings,  Mr.  Shepard  succeeded  in  making 
very  "  handsome  work "  upon  all  the  points 
respecting  which  the  author  of  the  letter  required 
satisfaction ;  and  gave  an  Answer  to  Mr.  Ball's 
Reply,  which  so  far  from  involving  the  Congre- 
gationalists  in  difficulty,  was  the  means  of 
silencing  the  objections  which  had  been  made 
against  them,  and  of  satisfying  the  English 
brethren  that  their  position  was  impregnable. 
He  shows  clearly  that  what  Mr.  Ball  had  stig- 
matized as  "  A  New  Church-Way,"  was  in 
truth  no  other  than  the  "  Old  Church- Way  of 
godly  reformers,"  that  "  the  mending  of  some 
crooks  in  an  old  way,"  does  not  make  a  new 
road, — and  that  in  the  constitution  of  the  New 


268lIFE      of      THOMAS      SHEPARO. 

England  churches,  both  with  respect  to  worship 
and  discipline,  the  true  Scriptural  model  had 
been  constantly  kept  in  view. 

On  the  subject  of  a  Liturgy,  there  was  a 
slight  shade  of  difference  between  Mr.  Shepard 
and  his  father-in-law.  Mr.  Hooker  thought  it 
would  be  better  to  maintain  that  "  all  set  forms 
are  unlawful,  either  in  public  or  in  private," 
than  to  defend  Mr.  Cotton's  position.  In  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Shepard,  he  says,  "Mr.  Ball, 
I  suppose,  hath  a  right  and  true  cause  to 
defend  in  the  former  part  of  his  book,  and 
handles  it  well ;  and  though  I  think  it  may  re- 
ceive another  return,  -because  there  is  some 
room  for  a  reply,  yet  if  he  hit  it  in  that,  I  sup- 
pose the  next  rejoin  will  silence.  Only  I  con- 
fess, I  had  rather  defend  the  cause  upon  this 
supposal ;  that  all  set  forms  are  unlawful  either 
in  public  or  in  private  than  to  retire  to  that  de- 
fence of  Mr.  Cotton's  :  That  it  is  lawful  to  use 
a  form  in  private,  or  occasionally  in  public,  but 
not  ordinarily ;  for  to  my  small  conceit,  he  doth 
in  such  a  distinction  tradere  causam,  and  that 
fully.  For  if  I  may  use  a  form  in  private,  then 
a  form  hath  not  the  essence  of  an  image  in  it, 
against  the  second  commandment,  for  that  is  not 
to  be  used  at  all ;  then  a  stated  form  is  not  op- 
posite to  the  pure  worship  in  spirit  and  truth, 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  269 

for  then  it  should  not  be  used  in  private :  then 
to  bring  in  a  book  for  the  performance  of  this 
duty,  is  not  to  bring  in  an  altar,  for  that  would  be 
unlawful  in  private.  Again,  if  lawful  4o  use  a 
printed  prayer  in  private,  then  hath  it  the  essen- 
tials of  true  prayer ;  then  it  is  not  of  the  same  na- 
ture with  preaching  a  printed  sermon,  or  reading 
an  homily,  because  neither  of  these  have  the  es- 
sentials of  preaching  :  hence  a  man  may  exercise 
the  gift  of  prayer,  and  the  graces  of  the  spirit  in 
so  praying,  because  it  is  a  lawful  prayer.*  .  .  . 
Mr.  Shepard,  without  discussing  the  question 
whether  all  forms  of  prayer,  under  all  circum- 
stances, are  unlawful,  declares  that  this  was  not 
the  question  upon  which  the  Congregationalists 
separated  from  the  Church  of  England :  It  was 
the  particular  Liturgy  of  that  Church, — ^which 
"  was  the  same  that  was  in  popery  for  substance," 
having  been  "  gathered  out  of  the  Mass-book," 
which  required  many  unscriptural  ceremonies 
and  idolatrous  gestures, — which  was  never  com- 
manded by  God,  but  imposed  upon  the  church 
by  the  "  insolent  tyranny  of  the  usurping  pre- 
lates,"— which  had  been  "  greatly  abused  unto 
idolatry  and  superstition," — which  made  every 
part  of  its  complex  service  a  matter  of  life  and 


*  Hutchinson's  MSS.  Papers,  vol.  I. 

23* 


270   LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEFABD. 

death, — which  was  upheld  and  enforced  by  the 
whole  physical  power  of  the  state, — it  was  this 
Liturgy  that  they  renounced  and  condemned  as 
a  corrupt  service-book,  which  had  been  too  long 
tolerated  in  the  English  churches.  Mr.  Ball 
had  made  a  false  issue  in  discussing  the  lawful- 
ness of  forms  of  prayer  in  general,  while  the 
whole  controversy  turned  upon  the  lawfulness 
of  submitting  to  this  particular  Liturgy.  "  All 
of  us  could  not  concur,"  says  Mr.  Shepard,  "  to 
condemn  all  set  forms  as  unlawful ;  yet  we 
could  in  this,  namely,  that  though  some  set 
forms  may  be  lawful,  yet  it  will  not  follow  that 
this  of  the  English  Liturgy  is."  It  became 
necessary,  therefore,  to  "  distinguish  of  forms, 
and  so  touch  the  true  Helena  of  this  controversy ; 
and  therefore  if  any  shall  observe  Mr.  Ball's 
large  defence  of  set  forms  in  general,  they  shall 
find  those  wings  spread  forth  in  a  very  great 
breadth  to  give  some  shelter  and  warmth  to 
that  particular  Liturgy  then  languishing,  and 
hastening,  through  age  and  feebleness,  towards 
its  last  end."* 

With  respect  to  the  discipline  of  the  New 
England  churches,  Mr.  Shepard  clearly  distin- 
guishes Congregationalism  from  Brownism,  (or 
Independency,)  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  Presby- 

*  Defence  of  Nine  Poeitlona,  ch.  11.  pftMim. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.271 

terianism,  on  the  other.  Brownism,  he  shows, 
places  the  entire  government  of  the  church  in 
the  hands  of  the  people,  and  drowns,  the  voice 
of  the  pastors  in  a  major  vote  of  the  brethren,  who 
were  content,  as  Ward  of  Ipswich  wittily  ob- 
served ;  that  the  elders  should  "  sit  in  the  sad- 
dle, if  they  might  hold  the  bridle."  Pres- 
by terianism,  on  the  contrary,  commits  the  whole 
power  of  discipline  to  the  presbytery  of  each 
church,  or  to  the  common  presbytery  of 
many  churches  combined  together  by  mutual 
consent,  thus  swallowing  up  the  interests  of  the 
people  of  every  congregation  in  the  majority  of 
the  presbyteries.  While  in  the  organization  of 
the  Congregational  churches,  both  extremes  are 
here  shown  to  be  avoided  by  a  wise  and  judi- 
cious distribution  of  power  into  different  hands, — 
which  neither  subjects  the  people  to  the  arbitrary 
decision  of  the  pastors,  nor  merges  the  authority 
of  the  pastors  in  the  will  of  the  majority.^ 

Mr.  Shepard  here  distinguishes  between  the 
povjer  and  ih.e  execution  of  discipline, — the  point 
upon  which  Mr.  Buckley  requested  information 
in  the  letter  which  has  been  already  referred  to. 
It  belongs  to  the  brethren  or  body  of  the  church, 
to  censure  an  offending  brother  by  admonition, 


*  Defence  of  Nine  Positions,  ch.  XIV. 


272   LIFE     OF     THOMAS     SHEPAED. 

suspension,  or  excommunication,  as  his  offence 
may  require ;  but  in  handling  offences  before 
the  church  it  is  the  prerogative  of  the  pastor  to 
declare  the  counsel  and  will  of  God  respecting 
the  matter,  and  to  pronounce  sentence  by  the 
authority  of  Christ  with  the  consent  of  the 
brethren.  *  "  We  distinguish,"  says  Mr.  Shep- 
ard,  "between  power  and  authority.  There  is 
a  power,  right,  or  privilege,  which  is  not  au- 
thority properly  so  called.  The  first  is  in  the 
whole  church,  by  which  they  have  right  to 
choose  officers,  receive  members,  &c.  Author- 
ity, properly  so  called,  we  ascribe  only  to  the  < 
officers,  under  Christ,  to  rule  and  govern,  whom 
the  church  must  obey."t 

It  was  falsely  imputed  to  the  Congregation- 
alists,  he  says,  that  they  "  set  up  a  popular  gov- 
ernment, making  the  elders  of  the  church  no 
more  but  moderators,  and  that  ministers  received 
their  power  from  the  people,  were  their  servants, 
and  administered  in  their  name,  when  we  oft 
profpss  the  contrary,  that  all  authority,  properly 
so  called,  is  in  the  hands  of  the  elders,  and  the 
liberty  of  the  people  is  to  be  carried  in  a  way  of 
subjection  and  obedience  to  them  in  the  Lord."  I 


•  Caojbridgc  Platform,  ch.  X. 

t  Defence  of  Nine  Positions,  p.  129. 

I  Preface  to  Defence  of  Nine  Poeitions,  p.  13. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPAKD.  273 

The  office  of  the  pastor,  as  he  describes  it  in 
another  place,  "  is  the  immediate  institution  of 
Christ ;  the  gifts  and  the  power  belonging  thereto 
are  from  Christ  immediately,  and  therefore  he 
ministers  in  his  name,  and  must  give  account  to 
him ;  and  yet  his  outward  call  to  this  office, 
whereby  he  hath  authority  to  administer  the 
holy  things  of  Christ  to  the  church,  is  from 
Christ  by  his  church ;  and  this  makes  him  no 
more  the  servant  of  the  church  than  a  captain, — 
by  leave  of  the  general, — chosen  by  the  band  of 
soldiers,  is  the  servant  of  his  band."  "  If,"  he 
goes  on  to  say,  "  the  power,  privilege,  and  lib- 
erty of  the  people  be  rightly  distinguished  from 
the  authority  of  the  officers,  as  it  ought,  a  dim 
sight  may  easily  perceive  how  the  execution  of 
the  keys,  by  the  officers  authoritatively,  may 
stand  with  the  liberties  of  the  people  in  their 
place,  obediently  following  and  concurring  with 
their  guides,  so  long  as  they  go  along  with 
Christ  their  king  and  his  laws ;  and  cleaving  in 
their  obedience  to  Christ,  and  dissenting  from 
their  guides,  only  when  they  forsake  Christ  in 
their  administrations.  If  there  need  any  occular 
demonstration  hereof,  it  is  at  hand  in  all  civil 
administrations  wherein  the  execution  of  laws 
and  of  justice  is  in  the  hands  of  the  judges,  and 
the  privilege,  power,  or  liberty  of  the  people  in 


274   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

the  hands  of  jurors.  Both  sweetly  concur  in 
every  case,  both  civil  and  criminal.  Neither  is 
the  use  of  a  jury  only  to  find  the  fact  done,  or 
not  done, — as  some  answer  this  instance, — but 
also  the  nature  and  degree  of  the  fact  in  refer- 
ence to  th^  law  that  awards  answerable  punish- 
ments ;  as,  whether  the  fact  be  simple  theft  or 
burglary,  murder  or  manslaughter,  &c. ;  and  so 
in  cases  of  damages,  costs  in  civil  cases,  &c. ; 
whereby  it  appears,  that  although  the  power  and 
privilege  of  the  people  be  great,  yet  the  execu- 
tion, authoritatively,  may  be  wholly  in  the  offi- 
cers." *  From  these  principles  it  followed,  as 
the  Platform  afterwards  declared,  that  all  church 
acts  proceed  after  the  manner  of  a  mixed  admin- 
istration, in  such  a  way  that  no  church  act 
can  be  regarded  as  valid  without  the  consent  of 
both,  t 

Every  thing,  in  short,  necessary  to  a  clear 
understanding  of  the  discipline  and  order  of  the 
early  New  England  churches,  is  explained  and 
vindicated  in  this  Treatise,  with  a  degree  of 
learning  and  ability  unsurpassed  in  any  work  of 
our  Puritan  fathers ;  and  no  one  can  read  it  at- 
tentively without  assigning  to  its  author  a  high 
place  among  the  controversial  writers  of  that 


«  Defence  of  Nine  Poaitiona,  pp.  130,  131. 
t  Cambridge  Platform,  ch.  X. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.  275 

age.  The  estimation  in  which  this  work  was 
held  by  Mr.  Shepard's  cotemporaries,  may  be 
inferred  from  a  single  sentence  in  Cotton's  elo- 
quent Latin  Preface  to  Norton's  Answer  to  Ap- 
pollonius,  written  in  1645,  and  printed  at  London 
in  1648.  After  speaking  of  the  labors  of  Hooker, 
Davenport,  and  Mather  with  high  commendation, 
he  refers  to  Shepard  and  Allen,  as  men  of  emi- 
nent piety, — distinguished  for  erudition,  and  pow- 
erful preachers, — who  had  accomplished  a  great 
work  for  the  church  by  happily  solving  some  of 
the  abstrusest  points  of  ecclesiastical  disci- 
pline in  the  answer  to  Ball ;  and  whose  argu- 
ments, uttered  in  the  spirit  of  piety,  truth,  and 
the  love  of  Christ,  were  adapted  to  conciliate 
opposers,  and  recommend  the  order  of  our 
churches  to  all  readers.  * 


*  Sepharedus  (qui  vernaculo idiomate  Shepardus)  unacum  Allienio 
fraire,  fralruni  dulce  par,  uti  eximia  pielate  florent  ambo,  et  erudi- 
tione  non  mediocri,  alque  etiam  mysteriorum  pietatia  praedicatione 
(per  Christ!  graliam)  efficaci  admodum,  ita  egregiam  navarunt  ope- 
rain  in  abstrusissimis  disciplinsE  nodis  feliciter  enodandis  :  et  dum  rei 
sponsum  parent,  atque  nunc  etiam  edunt  Domino  Baleo,  non  illi  qui- 
(lem  satisfactum  eunl  (qui  satis  jam  aperte  yidet  in  beatifica  Agni 
visione,  introitus  omnes  atque  exitus,  'formas  et  leges  coelestis 
Hierusalem)  sed  iis  omnibus,  qui  per  universam  Britanniam  in 
ecclesii.^  Clirisli  peregrinaiitur,  et  rei  disciplinariae  studiosius  appel- 
lerimt.  Verba  horum  fratrum  uti  suaviler  spirant  pietatem,  verita- 
tem,  charilatem  Christi ;  ita  speramus  fore  (per  Ctiristi  gratiam,)  ut 
mulii  qui  a  didcipliua  Christi  alieniores  erant,  odore  horum  unguen- 
toriim  Christi  effiisorum  delibati  atque  delincti,  ad  amorem  ejus  et 
pellecti  et  perlracti,  earn  avidius  accipiant,  atque  amplexentur. 


276    LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

Upon  the  principles  so  ably  unfolded  and  de- 
fended in  Mr.  Shepard's  treatise,  and  in  others 
already  referred  to,  although  not  digested  into  a 
system,  nor  formally  adopted,  the  churches  of 
Massachusetts  were  founded,  and  all  ecclesiasti- 
cal afiairs  conducted,  from  the  time  of  Mr.  Cot- 
ton's arrival  in  1633,  until  the  adoption  of  the 
Cambridge  Platform  in  1648.  Mr.  Shepard's 
personal  agency  in  the  production  of  this  digest 
of  the  principles  and  uses  of  the  churches,  does 
not  appear  very  clearly  in  the  history  of  those 
times,  but  there  are  several  circumstances  from 
which  we  may  reasonably  infer  that  it  was  very 
great.  It  has  already  been  stated  that  Mr. 
Shepard  was  at  Hartford  in  1644,  and  laid 
before  the  Commissioners  for  the  United  Col- 
onies, who  met  there  at  that  time,  a  memorial 
touching  some  provision  to  be  made  for  indi- 
gent students  in  Harvard  college.  Now  it  so 
happened  that  at  that  meeting  of  the  Com- 
missioners, jhe  idea  of  a  public  confession  of 
faith,  and  a  plan  of  church  government,  to  be 
approved  by  the  churches  in  a  general  synod, 
and  published  as  a  book  of  doctrine  and  disci- 
pline, was,  so  far  as  we  know,  first  suggested  and 
discussed.  *     Nothing   is   more   probable   than 


*  Hazard's  State  Papers,  TI.  24. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  277 

that  Mr.  Shepard,  or  Mr.  Hooker,  then  minister 
of  Hartford,  or  both  together,  suggested  this 
plan  to  the  commissioners,  and  urged  them  to 
adopt  some  measure  by  which  it  could  be  prop- 
erly brought  before  the  court  and  the  churches. 

Be  this,  however,  as  it  may,  the  Commission- 
ers at  that  time  took  the  first  step  towards  the 
convocation  of  the  Synod  which  produced  the 
Cambridge  Platform,  by  agreeing  to  lay  this 
subject  before  the  General  Court  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Accordingly,  in  the  year  1646,  a  bill 
was  brought  into  the  General  Court  for  calling  a 
Synod,  to  accomplish  the  end  proposed  by  the 
Commissioners.  The  magistrates  readily  passed 
the  bill ;  but  there  was  a  question  among  the 
Deputies  whether  the  court  could  legally  require 
the  churches  to  send  their  pastors  and  delegates 
to  such  a  synod ;  and  a  fear  was  expressed  that 
if  the  civil  authority  should  thus  interpose  in 
ecclesiastical  matters,  a  precedent  might  be  es- 
tablished which  would  justify  the  court  in  at- 
tempting to  enforce  upon  the  churches  a  uni- 
formity entirely  subversive  of  Christian  liberty. 
It  was  also  objected,  that  the  sole  purpose  of  the 
proposed  Synod  was  to  construct  a  Platform  of 
Discipline  for  all  the  churches,  to  be  reported  to 
the  General  Court  for  its  approval,  which 
seemed  to  imply  that  either  the  Court   or  the 

VOL.  IV.  24 


278   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

Synod  had  power  to  compel  the  churches  to 
practice  what  should  be  thus  established  and 
recommended.  In  view  of  these  objections,  and 
from  deference  to  the  fears  of  those  Deputies 
who  offered  them,  it  was  finally  ordered  that 
the  Synod  should  be  called  by  way  of  a  recom- 
mendation, and  not  of  a  command  addressed  to 
the  churches.  * 

Mr.  Hooker,  writing  to  Mr.  Shepard  respect- 
ing the  great  object  of  this  Synod,  expresses  his 
views  of  the  plan,  and  his  fears  lest  the  author- 
ity of  the  magistrate  and  the  binding  power  of 
synods  should  be  pressed  too  far. 

"Dear  Son, — 

"  "We  are  now  preparing  for  your  Synod. 
My  years  and  infirmities  grow  so  fast  upon  me, 
that  they  wholly  disenable  to  so  long  a  journey ; 
and  because  I  cannot  come  myself,  I  provoke  as 
many  elders  as  I  can  to  lend  their  help  and 
presence.  My  brother  Stone  and  my  cousin 
Stebbings  come  from  our  church ;  and  I  think 
the  rest  of  the  elders  of  the  river  will  accompany 
them.     The  Lord  Christ  be  in  the  midst  among 

you  by  his  guidance  and  blessing I  have 

returned  and  do  renew  thanks  for  the  letter  and 


♦  Httbbard't  Hist.  N.  Eng.  ch.  63. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  279 

copy  of  the  passages  of  the  Synod.  I  wish 
there  may  not  be  a  misunderstanding  of  some 
things  by  some ;  or  that  the  binding  power  of 
synods  be  not  pressed  too  much.  For,  I  speak 
it  only  to  yourself,  he  that  adventures  far  in  that 
business  will  find  hot  and  hard  work,  or  else  my 
perspective  may  fail,  which  I  confess  may  be  : 
my  eyes  grow  dim.  I  could  easily  give  way 
to  arguments  that  urge  the  help  of  a  synod  to 
counsel,  but  as  for  more,  I  find  no  trouble  in  my 
thoughts  to  answer  all  I  ever  yet  heard  pro- 
pounded. I  find  Mr.  Rutherford  and  Appollo- 
nius  to  give  somewhat  sparingly  to  the  place  of 
the  magistrate  to  put  forth  power  in  the  call- 
ing of  synods ;  wherein  I  perceive  they  go 
cross  to  some  of  our  most  serious  and  judi- 
cious writers ;  and  if  I  mistake  not  they  cross 
their  own  principles  sometimes.  I  confess  I  am 
apt  to  give  too  much  to  the  supreme  magistrate 
in  some  men's  thoughts,  and  I  gdve  not  much  to 
the  church's  authority.  However,  I  shall  not 
trouble  you  with  my  thoughts  ;  qui  bene  habuit, 
bene  vixit.  I  could  have  wished  that  none  of 
the  copies  sent  to  us,  had  been  sent  to  England: 
the  reason  my  brother  Stone  will  relate  when  he 
sees  you;  for  it  is  too  large,  and  not  so  safe  to 
commit  to  paper.  The  blessing  of  heaven  be 
with  you. 


280    LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEFAKD. 

•'  Entreat  Mr.  Eliot  to  send  me  some  grafts 
of  a  great  yellow  apple  he  hath,  which  I  liked 
exceedingly  when  I  was  with  him  the  last 
time.  Totus  tuus, 

T.  Hooker."* 

The  Synod  met  at  Cambridge  in  the  autumn 
of  the  year  1646;  but  so  late  in  the  season,  and 
so  few  of  the  Pastors  invited  from  the  other  colo- 
nies were  able  to  be  present,  that  after  a  session 
of  fourteen  days,  it  was  adjourned  to  the  eighth 
day  of  June  of  the  following  year,  1647. 

They  met  according  to  adjournment ;  but  at 
the  time  of  meeting  a  great  sickness  was  prevail- 
ing in  the  country,  and  it  was  again  adjourned 
to  the  30th  of  September,  1648.  At  this  meet- 
ing of  the  Synod,  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and 
Platform  of  church  government,  after  thorough 
discussion,  were  adopted  and  laid  before  the  Gen- 
eral Court  for  their  approval ;  and  the  Court  at 
its  next  session  formally  accepted  and  approved 
the  Platform,  declaring  that  it  was  what  the 
churches  had  hitherto  practiced ;  and,  in  their 
judgment,  as  to  its  essential  principles,  altogether 
in  accordance  with  the  word  of  God.  Thus  the 
Cambridge  Platform  became  a  part  of  the  laws 
and  usages  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachu- 

«  Hutcbinaon'i  MSS.  Papers,  VoL  I. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  281 

setts,  and,  for  substance,  is  still  followed  by  the 
Congregational  churches  throughout  New  Eng- 
land. 

Of  this  work  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  speak 
too  highly.  It  was  the  production  of  men  dis- 
tinguished for  preeminent  talents,  learning,  and 
piety, — for  their  sacrifices  and  sufferings  in  the 
cause  of  religious  liberty, — and  for  their  untiring 
zeal  for  the  prosperity  of  the  church  :  and,  as  a 
whole,  may  be  pronounced  the  most  Scriptural 
and  excellent  model  of  church  government 
which  has  been  framed  since  the  time  of  the 
apostles.  The  Fathers  of  New  England,  both 
civil  and  religious,  regarded  it,  and  the  authors 
of  it,  with  extraordinary  respect ;  and  if  in  these 
days  there  are  any  who  profess  to  hold  it  in 
slight  estimation,  it  is  because  they  are  either 
unacquainted  with  its  real  character,  or  have 
forsaken  the  faith  and  order  of  the  Puritans. 
*'  We  who  saw  the  persons,  who,  from  our  fa- 
mous colonies  assembled  in  the  Synod  that 
agreed  upon  the  Platform  of  Church-Disci- 
pline,"— such  is  the  language  of  Higginson  and 
Hubbard  near  the  close  of  that  century, — "  can- 
not forget  their  excellent  character.  They  were 
of  great  renown  in  the  nation  from  which  the 
Laudian  persecution  exiled  them.  Their 
learning,  their  holiness,  their  gravity,  struck  all 
24* 


282    LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

men  with  admiration.  They  were  Timothys 
in  their  houses  ;  Chrysostoms  in  their  pulpits  ; 
Augustines  in  their  disputations.  The  prayers, 
the  studies,  the  humble  inquiries,  with  which 
they  sought  after  the  mind  of  God,  were  as 
likely  to  prosper  as  any  men's  on  earth.  And 
the  sufferings  wherein  they  were  confessors  for 
the  name  and  the  truth  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
add  unto  the  arguments  which  would  persuade 
us  that  our  gracious  Lord  would  reward  and 
honor  them  with  communicating  much  of  his 
truth  unto  them.  The  famous  Brightman  had 
foretold,  that  God  would  yet  reveal  more  of  the 
true  church  state  to  some  of  his  faithful  servants, 
whom  he  would  send  into  the  wilderness,  that  he 
might  have  communion  with  them;  and  it  was 
eminently  accomplished  in  what  was  done  for 
and  by  the  men  of  God  that  first  erected  church- 
es for  him  in  this  American  wilderness."* 
If  the  EcclesiasticalPrinciples,  so  clearly  devel- 
oped in  the  Platform,  were  solemnly  re-affirmed 
by  a  body,  which,  like  the  Synod  that  formed 
it,  should  represent  the  Congregational  churches 
of  New  England ;  and  this  book, — with  such 
modifications  as  time  and  change  have  rendered 
necessary, — were   universally    received    as   au- 

♦  Higginson's  and  Hubbard's   TesUmony    to    the  Order  of  lh« 
Churches. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.  283 

thoritative  in  respect  to  Church-Discipline,  ma- 
ny growing  evils  might,  perhaps,  receive  a 
check,  and  the  unity  and  strength  of  our  denom- 
ination be  greatly  promoted.  Such  a  move- 
ment, devoutly  to  be  wished  by  all  who  love  the 
institutions  of  the  Puritans,  may  possibly  find 
favor  with  the  churches  ;  and  Cambridge,  the 
ancient  place  of  synods,  may  again  witness  a 
gathering  like  that  of  1648.  In  the  mean  time, 
the  more  closely  we  adhere  to  the  scheme  of 
ecclesiastical  polity  set  forth  by  that  venerable 
assembly,  the  more  confidently  may  we  expect 
that  Congregationalism  will  maintain  its  ascend- 
ency in  New  England,  and  commewd  itself  to 
the  consciences  and  the  hearts  of  intelligent 
Christians  throughout  our  country. 

While  Mr.  Shepard  was  thus  engaged  in  la- 
bors abundant  and  fruitful  for  the  advancement 
of  the  great  work  which  he  and  his  noble  asso- 
ciates came  into  "  these  ends  of  the  earth  "  to  do, 
he  was  visited  by  an  unexpected  and  grievous 
calamity.  On  the  second  day  of  April,  1646, 
the  Lord  gave  him  another  son,  but  took  away 
his  "  most  dear,  precious,  meek,  and  loving  wife 
in  child-bed,  after  three  weeks  lying-in, "  leaving 
nim  again  desolate  in  his  trials.  Mrs.  Shepard, 
from  all  that  can  be  learned  of  her,  seems  to 
have  been  worthy  of  the  tender  epithets  which 


284   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

her  bereaved  husband  here  bestows  upon  her. 
She  was  evidently  a  woman  of  superior  mind 
and  attainments, — of  great  prudence,— of  an  ex- 
ceedingly amiable  disposition, — and  of  eminent 
piety.  "This  affliction,"  says  Mr.  Shepard, 
"  was  very  great.  She  was  a  woman  of 
incomparable  meekness  of  spirit,  towards  my- 
self especially,  and  very  loving;  of  great 
prudence  to  care  for  and  order  my  family 
affairs,  being  neither  too  lavish  nor  sordid  in 
any  thing,  so  that  I  knew  not  what  was  under 

her  hand The  Lord  hath  made  her  a 

great  blessing  to  me  to  carry  on  matters  in  the 

family,  with  much  care  and  wisdom She 

had  an  excellency  to  reprove  for  sin,  and  discern 
the  evils  of  men.  She  loved  God's  people 
dearly,  and  was  studious  to  profit  by  their  fel- 
lowship-, and  therefore  loved  their  company. 
She  loved  God's  word  exceedingly,  and  hence 
she  was  glad  she  could  read  my  notes,  which 
she  had  to  muse  on  every  week.  She  had  a 
spirit  of  prayer,  beyond  ordinary  of  her  time  and 
experience.  She  was  fit  to  die  long  before  she 
did  die,  even  after  the  death  of  her  first  born, 
which  was  a  great  affliction  to  her.  But  her 
work  not  being  done  then,  she  lived  almost  nine 
years  with  me,  and  was  the  comfort  of  my  life 
to  me  ;  and  the  last  sacrament  before  her  lying- 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  285 

in,  seemed  to  be  full  of  Christ,  and  thereby- 
fitted  for  heaven.  She  did  oft  say  she  should 
not  outlive  this  child ;  and  when  her  fever  first 
begun,  by  taking  some  cold,  she  told  me  that 
we  should  love  one  another  exceedingly,  be- 
cause we  should  not  live  long  together.  Her 
fever  took  away  her  sleep ;  want  of  sleep 
wrought  much  distemper  in  her  head,  and  filled 
it  with  fantasies  and  distractions,  but  without 
raging.  The  night  before  she  died,  she  had 
about  six  hours'  unquiet  sleep.  But  that  so 
cooled  and  settled  her  head,  that  when  she 
knew  none  else,  so  as  to  speak  to  them,  yet  she 
knew  Jesus  Christ,  and  could  speak  to  him ; 
and  therefore,  as  soon  as  she  awakened  out  of 
sleep,  she  broke  out  into  a  most  heavenly,  heart- 
breaking prayer  after  Christ,  her  dear  Redeem- 
er, for  the  spirit  of  life,  and  so  continued  praying, 
to  the  last  hour  of  her  death,  '  Lord  though  I 
am  unworthy,  one  word — one  word,'  &c.,  and 
so  gave  up  the  ghost.  Thus  the  Lord  hath  vis- 
ited and  scourged  me  for  my  sins,  and  sought  to 
wean  me  from  this  world.  But  I  have  ever 
found  it  a  difficult  thing  to  profit  even  but  a 
little  by  the  sorest  and  sharpest  afflictions." 


386lIF£      of     THOMAS     SHBFARD 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Indian  Mission.  Establishment  of  an  Indian  Lecture  at  Cambridge. 
Mr.  Shepard's  interest  in  the  Indian  Mission.  "  Clear  Sunshine." 
Mr.  Shepard  marries  Margarett  Boradel.  Sickness  and  death. 
Last  will.  Mr.  Shepard's  preaching.  Opinion  of  colemporarie« 
respecting  his  usefulness.  Ctiaracterof  Mr.  Shepard's  writings. 
Objections  against  some  of  his  practical  works  answered.  Letter 
to  Giles  Fermin.  Opinion  of  several  Divines  respecting  Mr.  Shep- 
ard's works.    Personal  religion.    Conclusion. 

The  labors  and  influence  of  Mr.  Shepard,  and 
of  those  good  men  with  whom  he  was  associated, 
were  directed  chiefly,  as  has  been  seen  in  the 
foregoing  chapters,  to  the  accomplishment  of 
their  first  great  undertaking,  which  was  to  found 
a  truly  Christian  commonwealth  in  New  Eng- 
land, where  they  and  their  posterity  might  en- 
joy civil  and  religious  freedom.  But  they  did 
not  forget  or  neglect  another  important  work, 
which  was  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  natives  of 
this  country,  and  to  bring  these  poor  outcasts  to 
the  knowledge  of  God.  Many  persons,  ignorant 
of  the  history  of  those  times,  and  disposed  to  find 
fault  with  our  Fathers,  not  only  with,  but  with- 
out  cause,   have   severely   censured   them   for 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD.  287 

what  has  been  called  their  unjust  and  cruel 
treatment  of  the  poor  Indians, — their  utter  neg- 
lect of  the  wants  both  temporal  and  spiritual,  of 
the  original  owners  of  the  soil  whom  they  vio- 
lently expelled, — and  the  selfishness  which  char- 
acterized all  their  treatment  of  those  to  whom 
they  owed  their  comfortable  home  on  these 
shores.  This  is  not  the  place  for  the  defence  of 
the  colonists  from  this  charge,  or  for  the  history 
of  early  Indian  Missions  in  New  England. 
That  work  belongs  appropriately  to  the  Life  of 
Eliot  the  "  Apostle  to  the  Indians."  The  only 
object  in  referring  to  the  subject  here,  is  to  show 
how  deeply  Mr.  Shepard  was  interested  in  all 
efforts  to  civilize  and  Christianize  the  natives  of 
Massachusetts.  It  will  suffice  to  say, — and  the 
facts  will  warrant  the  assertion, — that  the  gov- 
ernment and  the  churches  of  this  State,  in  their 
deep  poverty  and  innumerable  hindrances,  did 
very  much, — more  probably  in  proportion  to 
their  ability, — for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel 
among  the  Indians  on  this  part  of  the  continent, 
than  is  done  now  with  all  our  means,  for  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen  abroad  or  at  home.  It 
is  a  fact,  which  will  ever  be  remembered  to  the 
glory  of  God,  and  to  the  praise  of  our  Fathers, 
that  the  first  Protestant  mission  to  the  heathen 
since  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  was  commenced 


288L1FE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPAED. 

among  the  Indians  in  the  town  of  Cambridge  in 
Massachusetts ;  and  that  the  first  translation  of 
the  Bible  by  an  Anglo-Saxon  into  a  heathen 
language,  was  made  by  John  Eliot,  pastor  of  the 
church  in  Roxbury,  and  printed  at  Cambridge, 
where  the  first  Protestant  sermon  in  a  Pagan 
tongue  was  delivered.  Legal  provision  was  made 
by  the  government  for  the  support  of  preaching 
among  these  Indians.  Schools  were  established 
for  the  instruction  of  their  children.  Courts  were 
established  for  the  especial  purpose  of  protecting 
their  rights,  and  of  punishing  trespasses  against 
them.  Great  and  good  men,  among  whom  El- 
iot and  Shepard  stand  preeminent,  devoted 
themselves  to  the  difficult  work  of  establishing 
the  institutions  of  the  gospel  amongst  them,  and 
leading  them  to  obedience  to  the  laws  of  Christ. 
A  college  building  was  erected  at  Cambridge 
expressly  for  the  purpose  of  giving  to  Indian 
youth  a  liberal  education,  that  they  might  be- 
come teachers,  ministers,  and  magistrates  among 
their  countrymen ;  and  although  this  design 
proved  abortive,  the  failure  was  owing  not  to 
any  want  of  zeal  in  those  who  commenced  it, 
but  to  the  inherent  and  insurmountable  difficulty 
of  the  work  itself.  Not  a  foot  of  land,  for  which 
an  owner  could  be  found,  was  ever  taken  by  the 
early  settlers  without  ample  remuneration  ;  and 


LIFE      OF      THOJJAS      SHEPARD.  289 

if  we  hear  of  Indian  wars,  they  were  wars  in 
which  the  colonists  were  compelled  to  defend 
their  lives  and  their  lawful  possessions  against 
the  unprovoked  attacks  of- savage  and  relentless 
foes.  It  was  one  part  of  their  original  design, 
as  we  have  said,  to  "  advance  the  honor  of  God, 
of  their  king  and  country,  by  this  settlement, 
without  injury  to  the  native  inhabitants."  They 
meant  "  to  take  nothing  but  what  the  Indians 
were  willing  to  dispose  of;  nor  to  interfere 
with  them,  except  for  the  maintenance  of  peace 
among  them  and  the  propagation  of  Christian- 
ity." 

Mr.  Shepard,  if  not  the  most  prominent  agent 
in  this  good  work,  was  nevertheless  a  most 
zealous  and  faithful  promoter  of  it.  There  was 
probably  no  one,  except  Mr.  Eliot,  to  whom  the 
Indians  were  more  indebted  for  those  measures 
which  concerned  their  civil  or  their  spiritual 
welfare.  The  first  missionary  station  where 
Mr.  Eliot  statedly  preached  to  them,  was  fixed 
at  Nonantum,  in  Cambridge,  in  the  year  1646. 
Mr.  Shepard  watched  over  the  infant  church 
gathered  there  with  parental  solicitude  and  kind- 
ness. He  frequently  attended  the  weekly  lec- 
ture held  by  Mr.  Eliot ;  and  although  he  could 
not  preach  in  the  Indian  language,  yet  several 
tracts  written    by    him    for   this   purpose,  were 

VOL.  IV.  25 


290   LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEFARD. 

translated  by  his  friend,  and  he  was  thus  ena- 
bled to  teach  them  the  rudiments  of  the  oracles 
of  God.  And  thus  Cambridge  has  the  honor  of 
furnishing  the  first  Protestant  Tract  in  a  heathen 
language,  as  well  as  the  first  heathen  mis- 
sion, and  the  first  Protestant  translation  of  the 
Bible. 

Mr.  Shepard  has  given  an  interesting  ac- 
count of  the  progress  of  the  work  in  and 
about  Cambridge,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  in 
England,  which  was  afterwards  published  under 
the  title  of  "  The  Clear  Sunshine  of  the  Gospel 
breaking  forth  upon  the  Indians  in  New  Eng- 
land," designed  especially  to  describe  the  effect 
of  Mr.  Eliot's  labors,  but  incidentally  exhibiting 
his  own  interest  and  agency  in  the  mission. 
During  the  winter  he  was  confined  at  home, 
but  on  the  3d  of  March,  1647,  he  attend- 
ed the  Indian  Lecture,  "  where  Mr.  Wilson,  Mr. 
Allen,  of  Dedham,  Mr.  Dunster,  beside  many 
other  Christians,  were  present,  on  which  day 
perceiving  divers  of  the  Indian  women  well 
affected,  and  considering  that  their  souls  might 
stand  in  need  of  answers  to  their  scruples 
as  well  as  the  men's,  we  did  therefore  desire 
them  to  propound  any  questions  they  would  be 
resolved  about,  by  first  acquainting  their  hus- 
bands or  the   interpreter   privately  themselves ; 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  291 

whereupon  we  heard  two  questions  thus  orderly 
propounded.  At  this  time  there  were  sundry 
others  propounded  of  very  good  use ;  in  all 
which  we  saw  the  Lord  Jesus  leading  them  to 
make  narrow  inquiries  into  the  things  of  God, 
that  so  they  might  see  the  reality  of  them.  I 
have  heard  few  Christians,  when  they  begin  to 
look  towards  God,  make  more  searching  ques- 
tions that  they  might  see  things  really,  and  not 

only  have  a  notion  of  them From  this 

third  of  March  until  the  end  of  this  summer,  I 
could  not  be  present  at  the  Indian  lectures ;  but 
when  I  came  the  last  time,  I  marveled  to  see  so 
many  Indian  men  and  women  and  child renJn 
English  apparel; — they  being  at  Noonanetum 
generally  clad,  especially  upon  lecture  days, 
which  they  have  got  partly  by  gift  from  the  Eng- 
lish, and  partly  by  their  own  labors,  by  which 
some  of  them  have  very  handsomely  appareled 
themselves,  and  you  would  scarce  know  them 
from  English  people.  .  .  .  There  is  one  thing 
more  which  I  would  acquaint  you  with,  which 
happened  this  summer,  viz  :  June  9,  the  first 
day  of  the  Synod's  meeting  at  Cambridge,  where 
the  forenoon  was  spent  in  hearing  a  sermon 
preached  by  one  of  the  elders,  (Ezekiel  Rogers, 
of  Rowley,)  as  a  preparation  to  the  work  of  the 
Synod.     The  afternoon   was  spent  in  hearing 


292    LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

an  Indian  lecture,  where  there  was  a  great  con- 
fluence of  Indians  from  all  parts  to  hear  Mr. 
Eliot ;  which  we  conceived  not  unseasonable  a 
such  a  time, — partly  that  the  reports  of  God' 
work  begun  among  them,  might  be  seen  and 
believed  of  the  chief  who  were  then  sent,  and 
met  from  all  the  churches  of  Christ  in  the  coun- 
try, who  could  hardly  believe  the  reports  they 
had  received  concerning  these  new  stirs  among 
the  Indians, — and  partly  hereby  to  raise  up  a 
greater  spirit  of  prayer  for  the  carrying  on  of  the 
work  begun  upon  the  Indians,  among  all  the 
churches  and  servants  of  the  Lord.  .  .  .  When 
the  sermon  was  done,  there  was  a  convenient 
space  of  time  spent  in  hearing  those  questions 
which  the  Indians  publicly  propounded,  and  in 

giving  answers  to  them That  which  I 

note  is  this,  that  their  gracious  attention  to  the 
word,  the  affections  and  mourning  of  some  of 
them  under  it,  their  sober  propounding  of  divers 
spiritual  questions,  their  aptness  to  understand 
and  believe  what  was  replied  to  them,  the  readi- 
ness of  divers  poor  naked  children  to  answer 
openly  the  chief  questions  in  the  catechism 
which  were  formerly  taught  them,  and  such  like 
appearances  of  a  great  change  upon  them,  did 
marvelously  affect  all  the  wise  and  godly  minis- 
ters, magistrates,  and  people,  and  did  raise  their 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  293 

hearts  up  to  a  great  thankfulness  to  God ;  very 
many  deeply  and  abundantly  mourning  for  joy, 
to  see  such  a  blessed  day,  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
so  much  known  and  spoken  of  among  such  as 
never  heard  of  him  before."  .... 

Towards  the  latter  part  of  this  year,  1647, 
Mr.  Shepard,  together  with  Mr.  Eliot  and  Mr. 
Wilson,  were  invited  by  the  inhabitants  of  Yar- 
mouth to  meet  with  some  of  the  elders  of  Ply- 
mouth colony,  for  the  purpose  of  settling, — if 
possible, — a  difficulty  which  had  been  of  long 
standing  among  them,  and  which  threatened  to 
divide  and  destroy  the  church  in  that  place. 
"  Wherein,"  says  Mr.  Shepard,  "the  Lord  was 
very  merciful  to  us  and  them,  in  binding  them 
up  beyond  our  thoughts  in  a  very  short  time,  in 
giving  not  only  that  bruised  church,  but  the 
whole  town  also,  a  hopeful  beginning  of  a  settled 
peace  and  future  quietness.  But  Mr.  Eliot,  as 
he  takes  all  other  advantages  of  times,  so  he  took 
this,  of  speaking  with  and  preaching  to  the  poor 
Indians  in  those  remote  places  about  Cape  Cod." 
"  Thus  you  have  a  true  but  somewhat  rent 
and  ragged  relation  of  these  things ;  it  may 
be  most  suitable  to  the  story  of  naked  and  rag- 
ged men If  any  in  England  doubt  of 

the  truth  of  what  was  formerly  writ,  or  if  any 
malignant  eye  shall  question  or  vilify  this  work, 
25* 


294    LIF*E      OF      THOMAS     SHKPARD. 

they  will  now  speak  too  late ;  for  what  was< 
here  done  at  Cambridge  was  not  set  under  a 
bushel,  but  in  the  open  sun,  that  what  Thomas 
would  not  believe  by  the  report  of  others,  he 
might  be  forced  to  believe  by  seeing  with  his 
own  eyes,  and  feeling  Christ  Jesus  thus  risen 
among  them,  with  his  own  hand."* 

On  the  eighth  of  September,  1647,  Mr.  Shep- 
ard  married,  for  his  third  wife,  Margaret  Boradel, 
by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Jeremiah,  born  Aug. 
11,  1648,  and  who,  after  his  death,  became 
the  wife  of  Jonathan  Mitchell,  his  successor  in 
the  church  at  Cambridge. 

Mr.  Shepard's  work  upon  earth  was  now  al- 
most finished,  and  his  useful  life  was  rapidly 
drawing  to  a  close.  His  health  had  at  no  period 
of  his  life  been  very  vigorous,  and  he  was  liable 
to  frequent  attacks  of  illness.  He  was,  as  John- 
son tells  us,  "  a  poor,  weak,  pale-complexioned 
man,  whose  physical  powers  were  feeble,  but 
spent  to  the  full ;  "  and  be  says  of  himself,  that 
he  was  **  very  weak,  and  unfit  to  be  tossed  up 
and  down  and  to  bear  persecution."  It  is  as- 
tonishing that  with  such  a  feeble  body  he  was 
able  to  endure  so  many  "  afflictions  and  tempta 
tions,"  and  to  perform  such  an  amount  of  intel 


*(3aar  SunshiiM,  itc.,  fiassiin. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  295 

lectual  and  other  labor.  In  August,  1649,  upon 
his  return  from  a  meeting  of  ministers  at  Row- 
ley, he  took  a  severe  cold,  which  terminated  in 
quincy,  accompanied  by  fever,  and  in  a  few 
days  "  stopped  a  silver  trumpet  from  whence  the 
people  of  God  had  often  heard  the  joyful  sound 
of  the  gospel."  He  died  August  25,  1649,  in 
the  forty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  universally 
lamented  by  the  whole  colony  in  whose  service 
he  had  exhausted  all  his  powers.  "  The  next 
loss,"  says  Johnson,  "  was  the  death  of  that 
famous  preacher  of  the  Lord,  Mr.  Hooker,  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Hartford,  and  Mr.  Phillips,  pas- 
tor of  the  church  at  Watertown,  and  the  holy, 
heavenly,  soul-affecting,  soul-ravishing  minister, 
Mr.  Thomas  Shepard,  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Cambridge,  whose  departure  was  very  heavily 
taken  by  all  the  people  of  Christ  round  about 
him ;  and  now  New  England,  that  had  such 
heaps  upon  heaps  of  the  riches  of  Christ's  tender, 
compassionate  mercies,  being  turned  from  his 
dandling  knees,  began  to  read  their  approaching 
rod,  in  the  bend  of  his  brow  and  frowns  of  his 
former  favorable  countenance  towards  them.""^ 

The  words  of  the  dying  are  generally  regarded 
as  deeply  significant ;  and  the  last  expressions 
of  a  soul  on  the  verge  of  heaven  are  treasured 

*  Wonder- Working  Providence,  p.  213. 


2%LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEFARD. 

up  and  repeated  by  the  living  as  revelations 
from  the  inner  sanctuary  of  truth.  The  nature 
of  the  disease  of  which  Mr.  Shepard  died,  per- 
haps prevented  him  from  speaking  much  upon 
his  death-bed ;  and  many  things  which  he  may 
have  said  have  not,  probably,  been  reported  to 
us.  A  few  precious  sayings,  however,  have 
been  preserved,  and  coming  across  the  gulf  of 
two  hundred  years,  sound  like  a  voice  from 
heaven.  "  0  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  very 
much,"  said  he  to  those  who  stood  by  his  bed- 
side watching  his  ebbing  breath,  "  that  little  part 
which  I  have  in  him,  is  no  small  comfort  to  me 
now."  The  pious  Baily  of  Watertown  has  pre- 
served in  his  Diary  a  sentence  from  those  dying 
lips,  which  is  worthy  to  form  the  practical 
maxim  of  every  minister.  To  several  young 
ministers  who  visited  him  just  before  his  de- 
cease, he  said,  "  Your  work  is  great,  and  calls 
for  great  seriousness.  As  to  myself,  I  can  say 
three  things;  that  the  study  of  every  sermon 
cost  me  tears ;  that  before  I  preached  a  sermon, 
I  got  good  by  it  myself;  and  that  I  always 
went  up  into  the  pulpit,  as  if  I  were  to  give  up 
my  account  to  my  master."  "  O  that  my  soul," 
adds  Baily,  "  may  remember,  and  practice  ac- 
cordingly."* 

*  Extract  from  Baily's  Diaiy,  in  Mather'*  Mafnalia. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.  297 

Among  his  dying  words,  and  perhaps  not  less 
indicative  of  his  spiritual  state  than  those  al- 
ready quoted,  we  may  place  his  last  will.  It 
was  dictated  to  his  friends  Daniel  Gookin,  and 
Samuel  Danforth  but  a  few  moments  before  his 
spirit  departed ;  and  in  the  calmness  with  which 
he  disposed  of  all  his  worldly  substance  for  the 
benefit  of  the  living,  while  he  gave  up  his  soul 
to  God  in  the  assurance  of  a  glorious  immor- 
tality, through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  we 
see  the  true  character  and  the  all-pervading  in- 
fluence of  his  personal  religion.  It  had  been  his 
aim  through  life  to  do  all  things  to  the  glory  of 
God ;  and  when  he  came  to  die,  it  seemed  to 
him  as  much  an  act  of  piety  to  take  thought  for 
the  welfare  of  those  whom  he  was  to  leave  be- 
hind, as  to  meditate  upon  the  crown  that  awaited 
him  in  heaven. 

*'  On  the  25th  day  of  the  6th  month  (August) 
1649.  Mr-  Thomas  Shepard,  Pastor  of  the 
church  at  Cambridge,  being  of  perfect  memory, 
and  having  his  understanding  clear,  made  his 
last  will  and  testament  in  the  presence  of  Daniel 
Gookin  and  Samuel  Danforth. 

Upon  the  day  and  year  above  written,  about 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  feeling  his  spirits 
failing,  commanded   all   persons    to   avoid   the 


298   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SH£PARD. 

roome  except  those  before  named,  and  then 
desiring  their  attendance,  spake  distinctly  unto 
them  as  folio weth,  or  words  to  like  effect : 

I  desire  to  take  this  opportunity  to  make  my 
will,  and  I  intreat  you  to  observe  what  I  speak, 
and  take  witnesses  to  it. 

1  I  Believe  in  the  everlasting  God  the 
Father,  and  his  eternal  son  Christ  Jesus,  and 
communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  this  God  I 
have  chosen  for  my  only  portion :  and  in  the 
everlasting  mercies  of  this  same  God,  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  I  rest  and  repose  my 
soul. 

2  All  my  whole  temporal  estate  (my  debts 
being  first  paid)  I  leave  with  my  dear  wife, 
during  her  estate  of  widowhood ;  that  she  may 
with  the  same,  maintain  herself  and  educate  my 
children  in  learning,  especially  my  sons  Thomas 
and  Samuel. 

3  In  case  my  wife  marry  again,  then  my 
will  is  that  my  wife  shall  have  such  a  proportion 
of  my  estate  as  my  Executors  shall  judge  meet. 
And  also  I  give  unto  her  the  gold  which  is  in  a 
certain  box  in  my  study. 

4  The  residue  of  my  estate  I  give  and  be- 
queath to  my  four  children  as  followeth,  viz : 
(1)  A  double  portion  to  my  eldest  son  Thomas, 
together  with  my  best  silver  tankard,  and  my 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEFARD.    299 

best  black  suit  and  cloak,  and  all  my  books, 
manuscripts  and  papers  :  which  last  named,  viz: 
books,  manuscripts  and  papers,  although  the 
property  of  my  son  Thomas,  yet  they  shall  be 
for  the  use  of  my  wife  and  my  other  children. 
(2)  To  my  son  Samuel  a  single  portion,  together 
with  one  of  my  long  silver  bowls.  (3)  To  my 
son  John  I  bequeath  a  single  portion,  with  the 
other  long  silver  bowl.  (4)  To  my  son  Jere- 
miah a  single  portion,  and  my  other  silver 
tankard. 

5  I  give  and  bequeath  as  a  legacy  to  my 
beloved  friend  Mr.  Samuel  Danforth  my  velvet 
cloak  and  ten  pounds. 

6  I  give  unto  the  elders  to  be  equally  di- 
vided, five  pounds  that  Mr.  Pelham  oweth  me. 

7  I  give  unto  my  cousin  Stedman  five 
pounds. 

8  I  give  to  Ruth  Mitchenson  the  elder,  ten 
pounds. 

Lastly  I  do  hereby  appoint  my  dear  friends 
and  brethren,  Daniel  Gookin,  Edward  Collins, 
Edward  Goffe,  and  Samuel  Danforth,  to  be  execu- 
tors of  this  my  last  will  and  testament. 
DANIEL  GOOKIN. 
SAMUEL  DANFORTH.=^ 


*The  inventory  of  Mr.  Shepard'.s  estate,  consisting  of  lands,  fur- 
niture, and  library,  amounted  to  £810,09,01.      His  books,— about 


300   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SH£PARD. 

Thus  died  Thomas  Shepard,  in  the  peace  of 
God  that  passeth  all  understanding,  which  kept 
his  mind  and  his  heart  through  Jesus  Christ. 
There  is  something  in  this  dying  scene  which 
reminds  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  affect- 
ing incidents  in  the  life  of  that  Saviour  whom 
Shepard  so  much  resembled.  "  When  Jesus 
therefore  saw  his  mother,  and  the  disciple  stand- 
ing by  whom  he  loved,  he  saith  to  his  mother, 
Woman,  behold  thy  son  !  Then  saith  he  to  the 
disciple,  Behold  thy  mother !  And  from  that 
hour  that  disciple  took  her  unto  his  own  house." 

Mr.  Shepard  was  buried  at  Cambridge  amidst 
the  regrets  and  the  tears  of  a  congregation  and 
a  college  that  owed,  under  God,  their  existence 
and  their  prosperity  to  his  devoted  labors  and 
sacrifices.  But  "  no  man  (now)  knoweth  of  his 
sepulchre."  Such  have  been  the  changes  which 
time  and  accident  have  produced,  that  no  stone 
remains  to  mark  the  place  of  his  rest,  nor  is  it 
possible  to  identify  the  grave  that  holds  his  pre- 
cious dust.  His  friend,  Mr.  Buckley,  as  an  ex- 
pression of  his  love  and  grief,  wrote  a  latin 
elegy  upon  the  occasion  of  his  death,  of  which 
Mather  has  preserved  two  lines,  as  a  compre- 
hensive epitaph,  descriptive  at  once  of  his  faith- 
fulness and  of  his  success  in  his  ministry. 


two  bundret]  and  sixty  in   num'wr,— together   with   leveral  MSS, 
were  valuad  at  £I'I0. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    301 

"  Nominis,  officiiq :  fuit  concordia  dulcis ; 
Officio  Pastor,  nomiuie  Pastor  erat. 

His  name  and  office  sweetly  did  agree, 
Shepard  by  name,  and  in  his  ministry." 

That  Mr.  Shepard  must  have  been  a  powerful 
and  an  efficient  preacher,  might  be  inferred  from 
what  we  know  of  his  spiritual  preparation  for 
the  ministry, — of  the  purity  and  elevation  of  his 
personal  religion, — of  his  close  and  hurpble 
walk  with  God, — of  his  devotion  to  the  interests 
of  his  flock, — if  we  had  not  the  testimony  of  co- 
temporaries  who  were  eye-witnesses  and  heart- 
witnesses  of  the  effects  which  his  preaching  pro- 
duced. When  we  are  told  that  he  always 
finished  his  preparation  for  the  pulpit  by  two 
o'clock,  on  Saturday  afternoon,  believing  "  that 
God  would  curse  that  man's  labors  who  goes 
lumbering  up  and  down  in  the  world  all  the 
week,  and  then  upon  Saturday  afternoon  goes 
to  his  study,  whenas  God  knows  that  time  were 
little  enough  to  pray  in,  and  weep  in,  and  get 
his  heart  into  a  frame  fit  for  the  approaching 
Sabbath, — when  we  know  that  he  wept  in  the 
composition  of  his  sermons, — that  he  went  into 
the  pulpit  as  if  he  expected  there  to  give  up  his 
account  of  his  stewardship, — that  he  always  de- 
rived some  spiritual  benefit  from  his  discourses 
before  he  delivered  them  to  his  people, — and 
VOL.   IV.  26 


302   LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

that  the  conversion  of  his  hearers  was  the  great 
end  of  his  preaching, — we  are  sure  that  his  ser- 
mons must  have  been  effective,  and,  like  the 
word  of  God,  of  which  they  were  but  the  echo, 
quick  and  powerful,  sharper  than  any  two-edged 
sword,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of 
the  joints  and  marrow,  and  laying  bare  the 
thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  That  intense 
zeal  in  the  service  of  God, — that  unreserved 
self-consecration  to  the  work  of  turning  man 
from  darkness  to  light, — that  holy  patience  in 
tribulation, — that  baptism  of  sermons  in  tears, — 
those  "  heavenly  prayers," — could  not  but  ren- 
der him 

"  A  ion  of  thunder,  and  a  shower  of  rain." 

\ 

And  this  inference  is  justified  and  confirmed 
by  those  who  saw  and  felt  the  power  of  his 
preaching.  "  This  year,"  1649,  says  Morton, 
"  that  faithful,  and  eminent  servant  of  Christ, 
Mr.  Thomas  Shepard,  died.  He  was  a  soul- 
searching  minister  of  the  Gospel.  By  his 
death,  not  only  the  church  and  people  of  Cam- 
bridge but  also  all  New  England  sustained  a 
very  great  loss.  He  not  only  preached  the 
gospel  profitably  and  very  successfully,  but  also 
hath  left  behind  him  divers  worthy  works  of 
special  use  in  reference  to  the  clearing  up  of 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPABD.   303 

the  State  of  the  soul  to  God  and  man ;  the  bene- 
fit whereof,  those  can  best  experience  who  are 
most  conversant  in  the  improvement  of  them, 
and  have  God's  blessing  on  them  therein  to  their 
soul's  good.'"^  There  is  a  tradition,  received 
by  Mr.  Prince  from  the  old  men  of  his  day,  and 
by  him  handed  down  to  us,  that  he  "  scarce  ever 
preached  a  sermon  but  some  one  or  other  of  his 
congregation  were  struck  with  great  distress, 
and  cried  out  in  agony,  '  What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved;'  and  that  though  his  voice  was  low,  yet 
so  searching  was  his  preaching,  and  so  great  a 
power  attending,  as  a  hypocrite  could  not  easily 
bear  it,  and  it  seemed  almost  irresistible."! 
Johnson  cannot  find  epithets  enough  to  express 
his  personal  excellence,  nor  language  to  set  forth 
the  wonderful  effects  of  his  public  ministrations  : 
"  that  gracious,  sweet,  heavenly-minded,  and 
soul-ravishing  minister,"  being  the  common,  and 
apparently  inadequate  terms  in  which  he  speaks 
of  the  pastor  of  Cambridge.  "  In  whose  soul," 
says  the  enthusiastic  eulogist,  "  the  Lord  shed 
abroad  his  love  so  abundantly,  that  thousands  of 
souls  have  cause  to  bless  God  for  him,  even  at 
this  very  day,  who  are  the  seal  of  his  ministry; 
and  he  a  man  of  a  thousand,  endued  with  abund- 


*  Morton's  New  England  Memorial,  p.  169. 
t  Prince's  Sermons  published  by  Erskine,  p.  60. 


304    LIFE     OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

ance  of  true,  saving  knowledge  for  himself  and 
others. 

But  perhaps  the  most  discriminating  and  com- 
petent witness  to  Mr.  Shepard's  power  in  the 
pulpit,  is  Jonathan  Mitchel,  who,  if  not  convert- 
ed, Avas  certainly  greatly  enlightened  and  aided 
in  his  inquiries  after  truth,  by  his  ministry. 
Mr.  Mitchel,  as  Mather  tells  us,  kept  a  journal 
of  his  inward  life,  a  few  extracts  from  which  are 
preserved  in  the  Magnalia.  On  one  occasion 
he  made  this  entry :  "  I  had  hardly  any  savour 
on  my  spirit  before  God ;  but  a  terrible  and 
most  excellent  sermon  of  Mr.  Shepard,  awakened 
me.  He  taught  me  that  there  are  some  who 
seem  to  be  found  and  saved  by  Christ,  and  yet 
afterwards  they  perish.  These  remarks  terrified 
me.  I  begged  of  God  that  he  would  have 
mercy  on  me,  and  accomplish  the  whole  work  of 
his  grace  for  me."  On  another  occasion  he  thus 
writes  :  "  Mr.  Shepard  preached  most  profitably. 
That  night  I  was  followed  with  serious  thoughts 
of  my  inexpressible  misery,  wherein  I  go  on  from 
Sabbaih  to  Sabbath  without  God  and  without 
redemption."!  Mr.  Mitchel  succeeded  Mr. 
Shepard,  and  his  first  sermons  were  full  of  lam- 
entations over  the  loss  which  he  and  the  people 


•  Magn&lla,  B.  IV.  pp.  163,  169. 
tib. 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.   305 

had  suffered  in  the  extinction  of"that  light  of  New 
England."  On  one  occasion,  when  referring  to 
the  few  years  which  he  had  lived  under  Mr. 
Shepard's  ministry,  he  said,  "  Unless  it  had 
been  four  years  living  in  heaven,  I  know  not 
how  I  could  have  more  cause  to  bless  God  with 
wonder  than  for  those  four  years."  *  After  all, 
perhaps  the  general  impression  which  he  pro- 
duced upon  the  people  to  whom  he  preached, — 
the  character  of  the  piety  which  grew  up  under 
his  ministrations, — and  the  spiritual  state  of  the 
church, — furnish  the  best  proofs  of  his  power. 
Mr.  Mitchel  was  at  first  very  reluctant,  even 
when  urged  by  Mr.  Shepard  upon  his  death-bed, 
to  occupy  the  pulpit  of  his  illustrious  teacher; 
and  the  only  consideration  which  finally  induced 
him  to  accept  the  pastoral  charge  of  that  congre- 
gation was,  as  he  himself  declared,  "  that  they 
were  a  gracious,  savoury-spirited  people,  prin- 
cipled by  Mr.  Shepard,  liking  an  humbling, 
mourning,  heart-breaking  ministry  and  spirit : 
living  in  religion,  praying  men  and  women." 
A  preacher  who  could  make  such  a  man  as 
Mitchel  feel  that  he  was  living  for  four  years  in 
heaven,  and  leave  such  an  impression  upon  a 
whole  people,  must  have  been,  to  use  the  Ian- 


*  Magnalia,  B.  IV.  p.  172. 

26* 


306    LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

guage  of  the  venerable  Higginson, — a  "  Chrys- 
ostom  in  the  pulpit,"  and  a  "  Timothy  in  his 
family,"  and  in  the  church. 

As  a  writer,  Mr.  Shepard  deservedly  holds  a 
high  rank  among  the  most  able  divines  which 
Puritanism, — fruitful  in  great  men, — has  ever 
produced.  His  works  are  controversial,  doc- 
trinal, and  practical.  He  was  '*  an  Augustine 
in  disputation,"  as  well  as  a  Chrysostom  in  the 
pulpit ;  and  like  a  scribe  well  instructed,  he  pro- 
duced several  works  which  are  of  permanen 
value  for  doctrine  and  instruction  in  righteous- 
ness. His  "  Theses  Sabbatic^,"  or  "  Doctrine 
of  the  Sabbath,"  is  a  masterly  discussion  of  the 
morality,  the  change,  the  beginning,  and  the 
sanctification  o{  i\\e  Sabbath.  It  is  the  substance 
of  several  sermons  upon  the  fourth  command- 
ment, and  was  thrown  into  the  scholastic  form 
of  theses,  or  short  propositions,  at  the  earnest 
request,  and  for  the  particular  use  of  the  stu- 
dents in  the  college.  Afterwards,  at  the  desire 
of  all  the  Elders  in  New  England,  the  work  was 
somewhat  enlarged,  and  published  in  its  present 
form,  in  1649.  It  is  now  very  rare,  not  more 
than  two  or  three  copies  being  known  to  be  ex- 
tant. With  respect  to  the  precise  time  at  which 
the  Christian  Sabbath  begins,  he  differed  slightly 
from  some  of  the  elders ;  and  Mr.  Allen,  together 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHBPARD.    307 

with  several  others,  wrote  friendly,  argumenta- 
tive letters  to  him  upon  that  point ;  but  the  ques- 
tion seems  to  be  of  too  little  interest  or  impor- 
tance to  call  for  any  remark  in  this  place.  Of  the 
*'  Answer  to  Ball,"  we  have  already  spoken. 
The  Preface  to  that  book  contains  an  admirable 
exposition  of  the  grounds  upon  which  our  Fa- 
thers proceeded  in  their  great  great  enterprise  in 
New  England,  and  if  republished  by  itself,  as  it 
was  a  great  many  years  ago,  would  be  an  in- 
vahiable  Tract  for  the  times. 

About  three  months  before  his  death,  he  wrote 
a  letter  to  a  friend  upon  the  subject  of  Infant 
Baptism,  in  which  he  felt  a  deep  interest.  It 
was  published  in  1663,  at  the  earnest  request  of 
many  who  had  heard  of  its  effect  upon  the  per- 
son to  whom  it  was  addressed,  under  the  title 
of  The  Church  Membership  of  Children,  and 
their  Right  to  Baptism,  according  to  that  holy 
and  everlasting  covenant  of  God,  established  be- 
tween himself  and  the  faithful,  and  their  seed 
after  them  in  their  generations."  Of  all  the 
works  upon  Infant  Baptism, — and  they  are 
many, — which  have  been  written  in  New  Eng- 
land, this  letter  of  Shepard's  may  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  able  and  satisfactory. 

Mr.  Shepard's  style  is  often  rugged,  but  full 
of  passages  of  sweet  and  quiet  beauty,  which 


308lIF£      of     TUOVIAS     SHEPARD. 

makes  the  reader  think  of  pure  water  gushing 
from  some  craggy  rock,  or  of  flowers  springing 
up  on  the  side  of  a  rough  pathway.  He  utters 
great  thoughts  without  any  apparent  preparation 
or  effort,  as  if  they  were  ever  present  and  most 
familiar  to  his  mind ;  and  amidst  his  most  ele- 
vated or  abstruse  reasoning,  continually  sur- 
prises and  delights  the  reader  with  utterances 
which  seem  to  come  from  the  heart  of  a  little 
child.  In  his  polemics  there  is  no  bitterness. 
He  never  takes  an  unfair  advantage  of  an  op- 
ponent ;  nor  uses  abusive  language  in  the  place 
of  argument.  He  is  always  serious,  candid, 
frank,  and  charitable.  He  held,  and  taught  the 
distinguishing  doctrines  of  grace,  which  Calvin 
before  him  had  discussed ;  but  he  never  presents 
them  as  dry  dogmas,  nor  uses  any  language 
respecting  them  which  is  calculated  to  wound, 
unnecessarily,  a  serious  mind.  He  always  ap- 
pears lovely  in  the  most  terrible  passages ;  and 
makes  one  feel  the  influence  of  his  gentle  spirit, 
while  he  sends  the  truth  with  overwhelming 
power  to  the  conscience.  He  was  a  Puritan  and 
a  Congregationalist ;  bat  in  maintaining  and  de- 
fending his  position  against  those  whose  words 
were  "  drawn  swords,"  his  spirit  is  always  un- 
ruffled, and  his  remonstrances,  though  uttered 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    309 

with   earnestness,  convey  no   venom   into   the 
wound  which  they  produce. 

There  is  a  class  of  persons,  who,  while  they 
do  ample  justice  to  Mr.  Shepard's  talents,  learn- 
ing, and  piety,  yet  complain  much  of  what  they 
term  the  severe,  legal,  discouraging  aspect  of 
some  of  his  Practical  writings, — particularly 
those  in  which  he  exhibits  the  conditions  of  sal- 
vation, and  endeavors  to  lead  a  sinner  to  Christ. 
The  remarks  of  a  recent  English  author  upon 
this  alledged  characteristic  of  Shepard's  works, 
exhibit  all  the  objections  that  have  ever  been 
made  against  them.  "  The  Treatises  of  S.  and 
D.  Rogers,  Th.  Hooker,  and  the  New  England 
Shepard,"  says  he,  "  cannot  be  read  without 
grave  exceptions.  For  in  these  valuable  wri- 
ters,— and  others  might  be  named, — amidst 
much  that  is  super-excellent,  there  are  state- 
ments as  to  the  constitution  of  a  Christian 
which  look  austere  ; — which,  by  checking  the 
freeness  of  salvation,  become,  though  contrary 
to  intention,  stumbling  blocks,  and  the  occasion 
of  mental  trouble.  Instead  of  at  once  directing 
sinners,  as  the  apostles  did,  to  the  finished 
atonement, — to  the  propitiatory  work  of  Christ, 
— of  urging  them  to  take  God  at  his  word, — to 
receive  the  testimony  given  of  his  Son,  and  so 
to  possess  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  these  good 


SIOlIFK     of     THOMAS     8HEFARD. 

men  seem  to  have  been  infected  with  the  an- 
cient errors,  which  confined  evangelical  teaching 
to  the  initiated.  They  evidently  thought  a  rou- 
tine of  tedious  preparation  needful  before  coming 
to  the  Saviour.  Qualifications,  therefore  un- 
known to  the  word  of  God,  were  prescribed,  and 
rules  laid  down,  which  not  merely  concealed 
great  and  precious  promises,  but  savored  of  a 
legal  spirit,  and  kept  out  of  view  that  death  unto 
the  law,  which  is  the  life  of  evangelical  obe- 
dience." * 

In  this  general  charge  of  austere  and  legal 
teaching,  which,  as  this  writer  says,  obscures 
the  promises  and  grace  of  the  gospel,  we  do  not 
distinctly  perceive  the  points  w^herein  Mr.  Shep- 
ard  is  supposed  to  be  erroneous.  But  in  Giles 
Firmin's  "  Real  Christian,"  a  book  which  was 
written  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  correcting 
the  errors  of  the  "  Sincere  Convert," — one  of  Mr. 
Shepard's  most  practical  works, — the  dangerous 
doctrines  are  set  forth,  and  controverted  at 
length.  In  this  book  Mr.  Shepard  teaches 
that  the  preparatory  work  which  every  sinner 
must  experience  before  he  can  receive  the  grace 
of  God  in  Christ,  includes  conviction  of  sin, — 
compunction, — and  humiliation; — that  the  sin- 


•  LsUen  on  the  FuriUns,  by  J.  B.  Williamt.  p.  170. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS     SHEPARD.    311 

ner  must  be  satisfied  with  the  will  of  God, 
though  his  suit  should  be  unsuccessful ; — that 
the  soul  must  be  so  humbled  as  to  be  willing 
that  Christ  should  dispose  of  it  according  to  his 
pleasure  ; — that  the  sinner  must  seek  the  glory 
of  God's  grace  above  his  own  salvation ; — and 
that  in  this  work  of  conviction,  compunction, 
and  humiliation,  we  must  be  so  thoroughly  di- 
vested of  all  self-confidence  and  disposition  to 
dictate  to  God,  that  he  shall  appear  supremely 
excellent,  though  we  may  never  partake  of  his 
love. 

Firmin  thought  that  a  person  under  such  a 
preparatory  work,  was  as  good  a  Christian  as 
he  could  be  if  he  were  actually  united  to  Christ. 
In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Shepard,  he  expressed  his 
surprise  at  the  doctrine  that  an  act  of  grace  or 
of  obedience  should  be  required  of  a  person 
under  a  'preparatory  work,  than  which,  he  con- 
ceived none  greater  could  be  performed  by  a 
real  Christian  ;  and  he  declared  that  he  knew 
no  act  of  self-denial  in  the  gospel  like  this  quiet 
submission  to  the  justice  and  sovereignty  of  God, 
irrespective  of  any  assurance  of  pardon  and 
acceptance  ;  and  this  too,  under  the  preparatory 
work  of  humiliation  ! 

This  doctrine,  Mr.  Firmin  thought,  must  be  a 
great  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of  sinners,  and 


312    L  I  F  E      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

occasion  great  perplexity  in  all  readers,  who 
believed  it  to  be  true.  And  he  seems  to  have 
known  one  serious  person,  besides  himself,  who 
was  much  troubled  by  this  "constitution  of  a 
Christian."  "  Preaching  once  abroad,"  he  says, 
•'  I  closed  up  the  point  in  hand,  by  applying  it 
to  what  Mr.  Shepard  had  delivered,  to  see  how 
these  doctrines  agreed.  A  gentleman  and  a 
scholar  meeting  me  sometime  after,  gave  me 
thanks  for  the  close  of  my  sermon.  I  asked 
him  why  ?  He  told  me  that  he  had  a  maid- 
servant, who  was  very  godly,  and  reading  of 
that  particular  in  Mr.  Shepard's  book  which  I 
opposed,  she  was  so  cast  down,  and  fell  into 
such  trouble,  that  all  the  Christians  who  came 
to  her,  could  not  quiet  her  spirit."*  That  is, 
this  poor,  godly  servant-maid,  could  not  be  freed 
from  trouble  of  mind,  occasioned  by  the  doctrine 
that  she  must  be  truly  convinced  of  sin, — be 
deeply  humbled, — and  submit  implicitly  to  the 
will  of  God, — until  she  was  convinced  by  Mr. 
Firmin  that  Shepard,  though  an  eminently 
learned  and  holy  man,  was  mistaken  in  rela- 
tion to  that  matter ! 

Before  attempting  to  suggest  an  answer  to 
these  objections,  it  may  be  well  to  remark  that 


*  Raal  Christian,  Prefoca,  pp  4,  5. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    313 

the  book  called  the  "  Sincere  Convert,"  was, 
perhaps,  of  all  Mr.  Shepard's  works,  the  least 
satisfactory  to  himself;  not  because  its  funda- 
mental doctrines  were  doubtful  to  his  own  mind, 
but  because  it  had  not  received  that  revision 
from  his  own  hand,  which  every  work  requires, 
and  was,  moreover  barbarously  printed.  "  It 
was,"  says  Mr.  Shepard,  in  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Firmin,  "  a  collection  of  notes  in  a  dark  town  in 
England,  which  one  procuring  of  me,  published 
without  my  will  or  privity,  I  scarce  know 
what  it  contains  ;  nor  do  I  like  to  see  it,  con- 
sidering the  many  typographical  errors,  most 
absurd,  and  the  confession  of  him  that  published 
it,  that  it  comes  out  mutilated  and  altered  from 
what  was  first  written. "*=  And  this  was  said 
in  October,  1647,  a  year  after  the  English  pub- 
lisher, in  his  fourth  edition,  declared  that  the 
book  had  been  "  corrected  and  much  amended 
by  ihe  Author  !  " 

Mr.  Shepard,  however,  while  he  thus  almost 
disowned  the  "  Sincere  Convert,"  did  not  dis- 
avow, but  vindicated  the  doctrine  here  called  in 
question.  Though  it  was  a  "  ragged  child,"  as 
he  sometimes  called  it,  it  spoke  upon  this  point 
at  least,  the  sentiments  of  its  author.     In  a  letter 


*  Real  Christian,  p.  215. 

VOL.    IV.  27 


314lIFB      of     THOMAS     SH£PARD. 

to  Mr.  Firmin,  he  says,  "  I  do  not  think  this 
(that  is,  unconditional  submission  to  the  will  of 
God)  is  the  highest  measure  of  grace,  as  you 
hint,  any  further,  than  as  any  peculiar  work  of 
the  Spirit  is  high  ;  for  upon  a  narrow  inquiry, 
it  is  far  different  from  that  readiness  of  Paul 
and  Moses,  out  of  a  principle  of  love  to  Christ, 
to  wish  themselves  anathematized  for  Israel's 
sake ;  which  is  a  high  pitch  indeed."  And  he 
closes  his  letter  thus :  "  Let  my  love  end  in 
breathing  out  this  desire  ;  preach  humiliation. 
Labor  to  possess  men  with  a  sense  of  wrath  to 
come  and  misery.  The  gospel  consolations  and 
grace,  which  some  would  have  dished  out  as  the 
dainties  of  the  times,  and  set  upon  the  minis- 
try's table,  may  possibly  tickle  and  ravish  some, 
and  do  some  good  to  them  that  are  humbled 
and  converted  already.  But  if  axes  and  wedges 
withal,  be  not  used  to  hew  and  break  this  rough, 
uneven,  bold,  yet  professing  age,  I  am  confident 
the  work  and  fruit  of  those  men's  ministry  will 
be  at  best  mere  hypocrisy ;  and  they  shall  find 
it,  and  see  it,  if  they  live  to  see  a  few  years 
more."* 

Mr.    Shepard  here   touches  the  root  of  the 
matter.     A  ministry  to  be  truly  fruitful,  must 


*  BmI  CbriAiam,  pp.  19,  56. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPAED.    31^ 

show  to  the  people  their  transgressions;  an(J 
that  doctrine  that  does  not  humble  the  sinner 
and  require  unconditional  submission  while  it 
offers  redeeming  grace,  though  it  were  preached 
by  an  angel  from  heaven,  is  anathematized  by 
the  gospel.  "  Some  souls  can  relish  none  but 
mealy-mouthed  preachers,  who  come  with  soft, 
and  smooth,  and  toothless  words  (byssina  verba, 
byssinis  viris).  But  these  times  need  humbling 
ministries,  and  blessed  be  God  that  there  are 
any.  For  where  there  are  no  law  sermons, 
there  will  be  few  gospel  lives  ;  and  were  there 
more  law-preaching  by  the  men  of  gifts,  there 
would  be  more  gospel- walking  both  by  them- 
selves and  the  people.  To  preach  the  law,  not 
in  a  forced,  affected  manner,  but  wisely  and 
powerfully,  together  with  the  gospel,  as  Christ 
himself  was  wont  to  do,  is  the  way  to  carry  on 
all  three  together,  viz.  sejise  of  misery, — the  ap- 
plication of  the  remedy, — and  the  returns  of 
thankfulness  and  duty.  Nor  is  any  doctrine 
more  comforting  than  this  humbling  way  of 
God,  if  rightly  managed. "*= 

Mr.  Shepard  had  an  able  defender  of  his 
doctrines,  as  well  as  a  worthy  successor  to  his 
ministry,  in  Jonathan  Mitchel,  who  drank  into 


*  Preface  to  Shepard's  Sermons  on  Ineffectual  Hearing  of  the  Word, 
bj  W.  Greenhill  and  S.  Mather. 


316    LIFE      OF     THOMAS      8HEFARD. 

the  spirit  of  that  theology  which  exalts  God 
while  it  abases  man  ;  and  carried  out  in  his 
preaching  the  views  of  his  master.  "  I  have," 
he  says,  "  no  greater  request  for  myself  and  for 
you,  than  that  God  would  make  us  see  things 
as  they  really  are,  and  pound  our  hearts  all 
to  pieces,  and  make  sin  most  bitter,  and  Christ 
most  sweet,  that  we  might  be  both  humbled  and 
comforted  to  purpose.  An  imperfect  work  of 
the  law,  and  then  an  imperfect  work  of  the  gos- 
pel, is  the  bane  and  ruin  of  these  days.  Some 
fears  and  affections,  and  then  some  hopes  of 
mercy,  without  finding  full  rest  and  satisfac- 
tion in  Christ  alone,  men  rest  in,  and  perish."* 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  legal  tone  of 
Mr.  Shepard's  writings,  by  those  who  think 
that  "  the  God  of  terror,  the  Thunderer  from 
Sinai,  must  fold  up  his  lightnings  prettily,  and 
muffle  his  thunder  in  an  easily  flowing,  poetical 
measure,"  they  doubtless  exhibit  in  a  masterly 
manner  those  distinguishing  doctrines  of  grace 
which  have  ever  been,  as  they  will  ever  be,  the 
true  and  only  foundation  of  the  sinner's  peace. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  the  reader  to  learn 
in  what  light  these  writings  were  regarded  when 
they  were  more  known  than  they  are  now,  by 


*  Letter  to  an  Anzioui  Enquirer,  1649. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      S  H  E  P  A  R  D  .    317 

men  most  competent,  by  profound  acquaintance 
with  the  Scriptures,  to  judge  correctly  of  their 
merits.  And  first,  hear  how  William  Greenhill 
speaks  of  that  "  ragged  child,"  in  the  edition  of 
1692.  "  The  Author  is  one  of  singular  piety, 
inward  acquaintance  with  God,  skilled  in  the 
deceits  of  men's  heart's,  able  to  enlighten  the 
dark  corners  of  the  little  world,  and  to  give  satis- 
faction to  staggering  spirits.  The  work  is 
weighty,  quick,  and  spiritual ;  and  if  thine  eye 
be  single  in  perusing  it,  thou  shalt  find  many 
precious,  soul-searching,  soul-quickening,  soul- 
enriching  truths  in  it ;  yea,  and  be  so  warned 
and  awakened,  as  that  thou  canst  not  but  bless 
God  for  the  man  and  the  matter,  unless  thou  be 
possessed  with  a  dumb  devil. '"^  White,  in  his 
"  Power  of  godliness,"  mentions,  among  the  best 
means  and  helps  for  acquiring  a  holy  charac- 
ter, together  with  other  books,  Shepard's  "  Sin- 
cere Convert,"  and  "  Sound  Believer."  Steele, 
in  his  "Husbandman's  Calling,"  advises  the 
Christian  farmer  to  purchase  some  choice  books, 
and  read  them  well,  and  recommends  Shepard's 
*'  Sound  Believer,"  as  one  of  peculiar  value. t 
Hugh  Peters  exhorts  his  daughter  to  read, 
among    other  books   mentioned   in   his   letter, 


*  Preface  lo  Sincere  Convert,  p.  9. 

t  Letters  on  the  Puritans,  by  J.  Bi  Williaraa, 

27* 


318   LIFE     OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD. 

Shepard's  "  Sincere  Convert,"  for  the  purpose 
of  having  her  "  understanding  enlightened  with 
the  want  of  Christ  and  his  worth."*  Rev. 
James  Frazier,  of  Scotland,  in  1738,  thus 
speaks  of  Shepard's  writings  :  "  The  Lord  hath 
blessed  the  reading  of  practical  writings  to  me, 
and  thereby  my  heart  hath  been  put  into  frame, 
and  much  strength  and  light  gotten;  such  as 
Isaac  Ambrose,  Goodwin,  Mr.  Gray,  and  very 
much  by  Rutherford's  above  others  ;  but  most  of 
all  by  Mr.  Thomas  Shepard,  of  New  England, 
his  works.  He  hath,  by  the  same  Lord,  been 
made  the  *  Interpreter,  one  of  a  thousand ;'  so 
that  under  Christ,  I  have  been  obliged  to  his 
writings  as  much  and  more  than  to  any  man's 
whatever,  for  awakening,  strengthening,  and 
enlightening  my  soul.  The  Lord  made  him  a 
well  of  water  to  me  in  all  my  wilderness 
straits."!  Our  own  Edwards,  a  man  whose 
religious  experience  was  as  genuine  and  as  deep 
as  that  of  any  divine  whom  New  England  or 
the  world  has  produced,  was  more  indebted  to 
Shepard's  Sermons  on  the  Parable  of  the  Ten 
Virgins,  in  the  preparation  of  his  "  Treatise  con- 
cerning the  Religious  Affections,"  than  to  any 
other  human  production  whatever,  as  is  shown  by 

•  Hanbury'i  Memorials,  111,  673. 

t  Pre&C*  to  Select  Caaea,  jk.,  by  T.  Prinea,  1774. 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    319 

the  fact  that  out  of  one  hundred  and  thirty -two 
quotations  from  all  authors,  upwards  of  seventy, 
five  are  from  Mr.  Shepard.  To  finish  this  cat- 
alogue of  eminent  men  who  have  borne  testimony 
to  the  truth  and  power  of  Mr.  Shepard's  practi- 
cal writings,  we  repeat  what  old  Mr.  Ward  of 
Ipswich  once  said  to  Giles  Firmin,  his  son-in- 
law,  respecting  one  of  the  prominent  character- 
istics of  his  preaching  and  writing.  "  When 
Mr.  Shepard  comes  to  deal  with  hypocrites,  he 
cuts  so  desperately,  that  men  knew  not  how  to 
bear  him  ;  he  makes  them  all  afraid  that  they 
are  all  hypocrites.  But  when  he  comes  to  deal 
with  a  tender,  humble  soul,  he  gives  comfort  so 
largely  that  we  are  afraid  to  take  it."  And 
Mr.  Firmin  himself,  says  that  the  book  which  he 
so  severely  reviews,  is,  for  the  most  part,  "  very 
solid,  quick,  and  searching,  cutting  very  sharp- 
ly," and  by  no  means  a  book  for  "an  unsound 
heart  to  delight  in."* 

Of  the  character  of  Mr.  Shepard's  personal 
religion,  after  what  has  been  said  in  the  forego- 
ing account  of  his  life,  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak 
at  length.  The  best  moral  portrait  of  him 
that  we  have,  is  drawn,  unconsciously,  by  him- 
self in  his  Diary,  to  which  more  than  one  refer- 


*  Real  Christian,  p,  216. 


320   LIFE     OF     THOMAS      SHEPARD. 

ence  has  been  made.  It  is  a  journal,  as  David 
Brainard  justly  remarks,  in  which  true  religion 
is  delineated  in  a  very  exact  and  beautiful  man- 
ner ;  and  in  reading  this  expression  of  his  most 
secret  feelings, — never,  certainly,  designed  to  be 
made  public, — we  may  see  what  he  regarded  as 
the  religion  of  a  minister  of  Christ, — the  state 
he  endeavored  to  attain, — and  the  difficulties  he 
encountered  in  his  way  to  heaven.  The  humil- 
iation,— the  submission  to  the  will  of  God, — the 
deep  sense  of  unworthiness, — the  desire  to  ad- 
vance the  glory  of  God  above  all  selfish  consid- 
erations,— which  he  preaches  to  others  in  his 
works,  he  here  shows  that  he  himself  experienced, 
the  joys  which  from  time  to  time  sprang  up  in  his 
soul  in  view  of  redeeming  mercy,  were  evident- 
ly not  the  self-created  comforts  of  a  deceived 
heart  that  had  never  been  truly  broken  for  sin, 
but  the  peace  of  God  which  came  to  fill  a  heart 
purified  as  a  temple  for  the  Most  High.  It  is  a 
journal  which  every  minister  might  study  with 
profit;  and  anyone  who  should  find  his  mind 
responding  to  these  profound  utterances  of  a 
heavenly  mind  might,  without  much  danger  of 
disappointment,  hope  to  be  made  an  instrument 
of  promoting  the  glory  of  God  in  the  conversion 
of  sinners. 

Upon  the  whole,  when  we  cwisider  the  rich 


LIFE      OF      THOMAS      SHEPARD.    321 

Christian  experience  which  Mr.  Shepard  at- 
tained, the  sacrifices  which  he  cheerfully  made 
for  the  sake  of  Christ  and  the  gospel,  the  great 
amount  of  ministerial  and  other  labor  which  he 
performed,  with  feeble  health  and  manifold 
hindrances,  the  attainments  which  he  made  in 
sanctity  and  the  knowledge  of  divine  things, 
the  able  theological  works  he  produced,  and  the 
influence,  felt  even  now,  which  he  exerted  in 
building  up  the  churches  of  New  England, — 
and  all  this  ere  he  had  passed  the  meridian  of 
life, — we  must  regard  him  as  one  of  the  bright- 
est ornaments  of  the  church,  and  hold  his  mem- 
ory in  profound  and  grateful  remembrance. 

"  A  sacred  man,  a  venerable  priest, 
Who  never  spake  and  admiration  mist. 
Of  good  and  liind,  he  the  just  standard  seemed, 
Dear  to  the  best,  and  by  the  worst  esteemed. 
His  wit,  his  judgment,  learning,  equal  rise, 
Divinely  humble,  yet  divinely  wise; 
He  triumph'd  o'er  our  souls,  and  at  his  will, 
Bid  this  touch'd  passion  rise,  and  that  be  still ; 
Releas'd  our  souls,  and  made  them  soar  above, 
Wing'd  with  divine  desires,  and  flames  of  heavenly  love." 


322    LIFE      OF      THOMAS      8HEPAKD. 


The  following  is  a  very  brief  account  of  Mr. 
Shepard's  Family  and  Writings. 

Mr.  Shepard  left  three  sons  : 

Thomas,  bora  April  5,  1635,  at  London ; 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  1653 ;  ordained 
Eastor  of  the  church  in  Charlestown  April  13, 
1659;  died  of  small  pox,  December  22,  1677, 
aged  43. 

Samuel,  born  at  Cambridge,  Oct.  18,  1641  ; 
graduated  at  Harvard  College,  1658 ;  ordained 
over  the  church  at  Rowley,  as  its  third  Pastor, 
1665 ;  died  April  7,  1668,  in  the  27th  year  of 
his  age. 

Jekemiah,  born  Aug.  11,  1648;  graduated  at 
Harvard  College,  1669 ;  ordained  at  Lynn,  Oct. 
6,  1679 ;  died  June  2,  1720,  aged  72,  after  a 
ministry  of  forty-one  years. 

Mr.  Shepard's  third  wife,  Margaret  Boradel, 
after  his  death,  married  Jonathan  Mitchel,  his 
successor  in  the  church  of  Cambridge. 

Anna,  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Shepard  of 
Charlestown,  was  married,  in  1682,  to  Daniel 
Quincy.  They  had  one  son,  named  John 
Quincy,  born  July  21,  1689.  Elizabeth,  the 
daughter  of  John  Quincy,  married  William 
Smith,  the   minister   of  Weymouth.     Abigail, 


LIFE      OF     THOMAS     SHEPARD.    323 

the  daughter  of  William  Smith,  married  John 
Adams,  afterwards  President  of  the  United 
States  ;  and  was  the  mother  of  John  Quincy 
Adams,  who  is  thus  a  descendant  in  the  sixth 
generation,  from  Thomas  Shepard  of  Cam- 
bridge.* 

Of  Mr.  Shepard's  books,  the  children  of  his 
mind,  the  following  is  believed  to  be  a  tolerably 
correct  list,  with  the  dates,  so  far  as  known,  of 
their  respective  editions. 

3  Theses  Sabbatic^  ;  Quarto,  London,  1649. 
2  Answer  to  Ball  ;  Quarto,  London,  1648. 

9  Select  Cases  Resolved,  London,  and 
Edinburgh,  1648. 

7  New  England's  Lamentation  for  Old  Eng- 
land's Errors  ;  London,  1645. 

6  Church  Membership  of  Children  ;  Cam- 
bridge, 1663. 

10  Caution  against  Spiritual  Drunken- 
ness, Sermon. 

11  Subjection  to  Christ  in  all  his  Ordi- 
nances, &c.,  the  best  way  to  preserve  liberty. 

12  Ineffectual  Hearing  of  the  Word. 

4  Sincere  Convert,  London.  Several  edi- 
tions,— the  last,  London,  1692. 

5  Sound  Believer. 

1  Sermon  on  the  Parable  of  the  Ten 
Virgins,  Folio,  London,  1695. 

*  Chronicles  of  Massachusetts,  p.  558.    Not«. 


324   LIFE      OF     THOMAS      SHEPAED. 

13  Singing  of  Psalms  a  Gospel  Ordinance, 
1647. 

8  Cleae  Sunshine  of  the  Gospel  beeaking 
UPON  THE  Indians,  London,  1648. 

Select  Cases  Resolved  ;  London,  1648. 

14  Meditations  and  Spiritual  Experiences. 

A  Diary  from  November,  1640,  to  December, 
1641. 

First  Principles  of  the  Oracles  of  God. 
London  and  Edinburgh,  1648. 

The  Saint's  Jewell,  16mo.,  London,  1692. 

9  The  Liturgical  Considerator  ;  in  reply 
to  Dr.  Gauden,  London,  1661. 

Tlie  Bible  used  by  Mr.  Shepard  is  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Rev.  William  Jenks,  D.  D.  It 
has  the  Hebrew  of  the  Old  Testament,  without 
points,  and  the  Greek  of  the  New.  It  exhibits 
marks  of  use.  On  the  title-page,  at  the  bottom, 
after  the  name  of  a  previous  possessor,  is  Shep- 
ard's  name,  an  autograph  thus  :  Thomas  Shep- 
ard. if  jirotf 'i'adi..  Immanuel.  For  this  account 
of  Shepard's  Bible  I  am  indebted  to  the  kind- 
ness of  Rev.  Dr.  Jenks. 


SS3  I 


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